


In Which Cloud Time-Travels into Sephiroth's Head

by JustAPlaceToPostMyDrabbles



Series: In Which Cloud... [1]
Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997), Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020), Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Genre: Are you my conscience??, Cloud Watching, Cloud has PTSD, Cloud is a good Influence, Gen, Hojo will probably die, Kinda?Happy Ending, Little Cloud is Adorbs and no one is immune, M/M, Manipulative!Seph did not mean for this to happen, Post-AC Seph did not sign up for feelings, Probably Crackish Territory, Sane Sephiroth (Compilation of FFVII), SmolCloud is a little shit, Time Travel, not at all
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-12 12:14:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 19,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29759472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustAPlaceToPostMyDrabbles/pseuds/JustAPlaceToPostMyDrabbles
Summary: If he had to go back into the past, this was NOT the place Cloud Strife wanted to end up.And then he caught a glimpse of cat-like green eyes and long silver hair in a mirror.‘Fuck!’ he supplied helpfully.“You said a bad word!” The twelve year old Sephiroth chided in the only way a child could.Double fuck,Cloud thought mentally.
Relationships: Sephiroth/Cloud Strife
Series: In Which Cloud... [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2187204
Comments: 92
Kudos: 324





	1. I am your Conscious, Sephiroth

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Telling Time With a Broken Watch](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27354790) by [CloudStrifeIsMySpiritAnimal](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CloudStrifeIsMySpiritAnimal/pseuds/CloudStrifeIsMySpiritAnimal). 



Cloud woke with a start.

He had just completed a delivery and had gotten to his home in Seventh Heaven, eaten dinner with Denzel, Marlene, and Tifa, and then lay on his rarely used bed to sleep.

He woke in quiet darkness. Which was odd since his enhanced hearing usually picked up any kind of noise, including the sound of people shifting in bed. If he concentrated long enough, he could hear the nightlife outside his window, usually crickets chirping. Then he realized he wasn't lying on his bed in Seventh Heaven. He was almost free-floating, as if submerged in a mako tank, but without the unpleasant burning and itching that came with the substance.

For half a second, he thought that Sephiroth had come back from the dead and was using his body as a puppet again, locking Cloud in his own mind and away from interfering with whatever sinister plan he had _this_ time. But then he realized that he wasn’t _caged or restrained_.

Most notably, the buzzing of _Jenova-Reunion_ was oddly absent.

And then he caught a glimpse of cat-like green eyes and long silver hair in a mirror.

‘ _Fuck!_ ’ he supplied helpfully.

“You said a bad word!” The twelve year old Sephiroth chided in the only way a child could.

 _Double fuck,_ Cloud thought mentally.

\--

Sephiroth was used to waking up with weird things attached. Hojo would occasionally inject mysterious substances while he slept or attach equipment to him. But this was a first.

When he woke up today, he had felt the very odd feeling that he wasn’t alone in his head. The insistent buzzing in his head had vanished, leaving behind a warm-fuzzy feeling. Like the teddy bear Professor Gast had once given him as a child.

He wasn’t alarmed, but he could tell that the presence in his head _was_. So the first chance he got, he looked into a mirror.

The occupant in his head was reluctant to tell Sephiroth his name. Sephiroth couldn’t understand why, until the stranger simply said, ‘ _I_ _f I tell you, you must not tell anyone about me. Especially Hojo._ ’

A promise then. Sephiroth was good at keeping promises. “Okay. I promise.”

‘... _It’s Cloud._ ’

“Cloud...” Sephiroth tried the name on his tongue before he smiled. He liked that name. It was… freeing, almost. “Nice to meet you, Cloud.”

‘... _Likewise._ ’ The voice seemed guarded and quiet. But Sephiroth didn’t mind.

‘ _Can you hear me when I think things to you?_ ’ Sephiroth tried.

‘ _...Yes._ ’

Well, that made things handy.

\--

Cloud didn’t know how Sephiroth _dealt_ with the idiocy of the Heads of Shinra. If this was what Sephiroth had to deal with every board meeting, no _wonder_ his Sephiroth had gone off the deep end and impaled the old coot.

So he provided commentary, to Sephiroth’s endless amusement. It was a good thing Sephiroth had a _very_ good poker face, because Cloud’s commentary was hysterical.

Whether the commentary was true or false, Sephiroth didn’t know. He wasn’t going to make much of an effort to find out either.

“SOLDIER recruitment is up by 400%...”

‘ _Heidegger, I hope you choke you ridiculous fat asshole._ ’ Cloud sneered.

‘ _What did he do?_ ’ Sephiroth asked.

‘ _He has no regard for human life. Like most of the board here._ ’

‘ _Most?_ ’

‘ _Reeve is good. Man actually gives half a fuck. He’s just got shit luck when it comes to his co-workers. Rufus would be okay if he got that stick out of his ass._ ’

Sephiroth blinked slowly, considering the words as he watched the meeting impassively. ‘ _Meaning to say that the President is not good._ ’

‘ _Do you think he’s a good person?_ ’

Sephiroth didn’t respond to that, but they both knew the answer to be _no._ Then Hojo turned to Sephiroth.

“Sephiroth, my boy, I’d like you to report to me before your deployment to Wutai,” the greasy scientist said, clapping his hands together.

‘ _Say no,_ ’ Cloud retorted.

‘ _Why?_ ’

‘ _Because Hojo is a greasy liar and can’t be trusted to have your best interests in mind._ ’

Considering Cloud’s response, Sephiroth looked at Hojo. “Is there a reason, Professor? I am not feeling ill. And I’d like to prepare for my deployment later today.”

Hojo’s mouth opened in outrage, but the President laughed. 

“It seems Sephiroth is approaching that age, Professor. Let the boy be,” the President laughed, delighted, though Sephiroth had no idea why the man was so happy. Cloud shifted in his mind, as if uncomfortable. And once Sephiroth caught the glare from the maniac doctor, he too was uncomfortable.

“If that is all, meeting adjourned!” the President declared.

\--

Cloud had some kind of deep hatred for Hojo.

This was something Sephiroth understood, the second Cloud had recognized Hojo in the board meeting. It was a hot blaze in his mind that Cloud had realized was hurting Sephiroth and had contained it expertly. If Cloud was truly in his head _because_ of something Hojo did, then it would make perfect sense as to why Cloud hated the doctor so much. On the other hand, it drew some uncomfortable questions like “If Cloud’s mind is here, what about his body” and “Did Hojo kill his body to be able to transfer his mind”. Both were unsettling thoughts and not something Sephiroth wanted to dwell on too long.

Cloud was quiet. So quiet that, apart from the warmth of Cloud’s mind against his own, Sephiroth would have forgotten that the man existed in his mind. But it didn’t matter if Cloud talked to him or not. Sephiroth was feeling whole. Complete. Satiated. It was a feeling he had never known he was missing and never expected that he had this hole in his mind until Cloud dropped there and it was filled in.

Cloud’s comments about the Wutai War were welcomed. Sephiroth had similar thoughts, even if he had never voiced them. But after another victory and a pile of bodies in front of Masamune, Cloud spoke.

‘ _Do you want this? This war?_ ’

‘ _I_ _t’s not like I have much of a choice. If I don’t do it, someone else will. Or they’ll take prisoners of war and Hojo will have new lab specimens._ ’

Cloud’s silence was enough, but the faint feeling of disapproval still echoed through his thoughts. ‘ _I’d like to say that you shouldn’t fight wars that adults started, but both of us know that you are a unique case. They won’t let you go._ ’

‘ _No. They won’t._ ’ Sephiroth agreed, shaking the blood off his blade. It almost felt like downing chicks in a nest when the mother bird was away. These were unenhanced humans against super-SOLDIERs. 

‘ _After this is over, you can use this as leverage to re-negotiate your contract._ ’ 

Sephiroth frowned, his brows furrowing. ‘ _What do you mean?_ ’

‘ _You should keep away from Hojo. He’s lied to you about a lot of things. And lied to others about a lot of things. All to give the illusion that his hands are clean. He may not be on the battlefield here, but, arguably, what he is doing and has done is much, much worse. And on top of that, the President knows, but doesn’t care._ ’

The tip of Masamune lowered to the ground as Sephiroth thought about this statement. Then he slowly sheathed the blade and turned towards his troops, walking them back to camp. ‘ _You’ll have to tell me more._ ’

‘ _L_ _ater._ ’

\--

Having the silent, yet constant companion in his head made Sephiroth a more calm person. He no longer felt the need to demolish training rooms when he felt like he was on the brink of snapping; when he was alone in Shinra Tower without a suitable rival (Genesis and Angeal weren’t exactly suitable rivals--Sephiroth didn’t and couldn’t go all out with them). And there were only so many times Sephiroth could go through training simulations without losing patience.

It was weird, almost. He just didn’t feel the overwhelming urge to destroy something. And it also helped that, sometimes, Cloud would catch his mood and warily talk him down from his destructive tendencies. Sephiroth knew that his moods were very easily felt by Cloud, so he did his best to rein in his emotions. Cloud was frightened when Sephiroth was angry. So, Sephiroth found reasons and ways to _not_ be angry.

Over the next few years, Sephiroth learned that Cloud commented more on people he _disliked_ rather than people he _liked_ . Which led to Sephiroth catching himself contemplating the idea of going to Hojo’s labs, _just_ to be able to hear Cloud speak.

Something about Sephiroth’s thoughts must have leaked to Cloud because Cloud’s presence in his mind shifted uncomfortably.

‘ _What is it?_ ’ Cloud asked finally.

‘ _Nothing,_ ’ Sephiroth denied. But when Cloud patiently remained silent, Sephiroth frowned a little, quickly trying to come up with some kind of excuse. ‘ _Well, actually… I wanted your opinion on Genesis and Angeal._ ’

Cloud seemed surprised. Sephiroth could tell that the other was a little uncomfortable with the subject. ‘ _What do you mean? They are your friends, aren’t they?_ ’

‘ _Yes, but..._ ’ Sephiroth found it remarkably easier to admit this to Cloud than to either of the teens. ‘ _They are important to me. So I want them to be important to you too._ ’

It was an admission that Sephiroth was comfortable telling Cloud. Because Cloud couldn’t tell anyone else. And Cloud _belonged_ to Sephiroth. He was there, in his head, and Sephiroth was his only link to the outside.

Cloud’s mood shifted to contentment. ‘ _Take care of them, then. They are your friends._ ’

‘ _Cloud…?_ ’ Sephiroth was a little confused at the words that seemed to hold a lot of weight behind them. Cloud hesitated for a minute or so before continuing.

‘ _Tell them that they matter to you. Otherwise, they won’t know,_ ’ Cloud said.

Sephiroth frowned. Surely, Angeal and Genesis knew that though? Sephiroth allowed Angeal to decorate his office with those annoying plants of his. And he also allowed Genesis to prattle on about LOVELESS in his office while he was doing paperwork. And he joined them for dinner every week. And sparred with them. He wouldn’t have allowed them to hang around like that if Sephiroth _didn’t_ like them, right?

‘ _But… don’t they know that?_ ’ Sephiroth asked. Perhaps Cloud meant something else? Or Cloud wasn’t clear about the First’s relationship?

‘ _Yes. But sometimes, people need to hear the words to make it real,_ ’ Cloud responded. 

Sephiroth considered this, staring into the training room where Angeal and Genesis were running a simulation. They worked well together, black and red, magic and sword. 

‘ _Some people will understand even if you don’t say it,_ ’ Cloud continued quietly. ‘ _And then there are others who want to hear those words. I have regretted not saying those words._ ’

Sephiroth wondered if Cloud was just as bad as he was at saying the words. He wondered what had happened to the one Cloud didn’t say the words for. But he didn’t pry, choosing to turn on his heel and pull out his PHS. He hovered over their group message, looking at the screen, at Angeal and Genesis’ names, considering his next move.

‘ _How do I say it?_ ’ Sephiroth asked.

‘ _That is something I can’t tell you. You need to be the one to choose the words. Otherwise, it won’t sound genuine. Even if it’s awkward and shifty. They are your friends; they’ll understand._ ’

Sephiroth typed a message to invite them to his apartment for dinner, hovering over the send key. ‘ _What if they don’t understand?_ ’

‘ _Then you try again. Because if they are important to you, then the effort you put in is important to them too._ ’

Sephiroth shut his eyes and hit SEND before he lost his nerve to do so. If Cloud said that this was important, then he would do it. If not for himself, then for Angeal and Genesis. Because he cared about them.

\--

Apparently, it was the right decision. Angeal accepted his admission of “you are important to me. I just wanted you to know” with a simple nod and a smile, returning it with “as you are to me”, but Genesis was different.

Genesis gaped at Sephiroth, pointing an accusing finger at his face and declared: “Who are you and what have you done with Sephiroth?!”

Sephiroth shifted uncomfortably in the chair. They had just finished dinner and were partaking in a small fruit platter, shared between the three of them. “Is it that unusual that I’d want to invite my friends over for a bit of… heart to heart, as it is said?”

“You’ve _never_ invited us over. And you’ve never declared anyone as _important_ to you,” Genesis claimed, his eyes wide. “It’s always _us_ inviting _you_ over.”

Sephiroth paused, considering this carefully. “And that’s not really fair of me, is it?” he asked finally. “You two _do_ matter to me. I heard from someone that it is important to say these things sometimes, because even though the words don’t mean much to me, they might mean more to you.”

Mouth opening and closing like a fish, Genesis stared at the silver haired General. Angeal placed a hand on Genesis’ shoulder, looking at Sephiroth.

“Whoever you heard that from is very wise,” Angeal said. “Sometimes, certain words need to be said to be understood. Thank you for this, Sephiroth. It means a lot to us.”

“This doesn’t mean I’ll stop being your rival!” Genesis declared, slumping down on the chair, crossing his arms. “I’m not going to take it easy on you tomorrow.”

“Of course not,” Sephiroth said, nodding. “I expect nothing less.” They had booked a training room for an hour tomorrow after all their meetings and duties. He was glad that this was now over.

“Also! It’s not fair that you said it first! You matter to us too, asshole!”

Sephiroth was unaware that this was a competition. His confusion must have shown on his face because Angeal turned his head to the side and started laughing. And why was _he_ the asshole? Genesis’ indignant expression remained through his declaration but slowly melted to an easy laugh. Soon, Sephiroth felt his lips twitching and he chuckled as well.

It was good to have friends.

\--

The idea of telling his friends about _Cloud_ didn’t even cross his mind. Cloud was _his_ and _his_ alone. And while he didn’t mind sharing his friends with Cloud, he didn’t really want to share _Cloud_ with his friends.

It didn’t even occur to Sephiroth that he was doing this until Angeal brought in his student one day. A young boy by the name Zackary Fair.

Cloud was oddly quiet when Angeal introduced him. And when Sephiroth asked Angeal why he had bothered, since Angeal was his mentor, not Genesis or Sephiroth, Angeal merely smiled and explained patiently. 

“He is my student. He is important to me, so I want him to be important to you too. Because you’re my friend,” Angeal said.

Sephiroth made an effort to speak to Zackary from then on. Even if it was a simple “Good morning” or “Good evening”. He gave nods to acknowledge Zackary’s presence when he came with Angeal.

Somehow, it took only one week before the shock of being around The General Sephiroth wore off for Zackary.

That’s when it began.

\--

“So, Angeal said you do paperwork all day,” Zack said, looking at the piles of papers on Sephiroth’s desk. Sephiroth blinked, looking up at Zack, considering his statement.

“Mostly,” he admitted. As usual, Cloud was silent when Zack was around. Part of Sephiroth wanted Zack to go away so that he could prod Cloud into talking, but the other part of him didn’t want to disappoint Angeal. “Is there something you needed, Zackary?” he asked instead.

“Well, no. But!” Zack slammed his hands down on his desk and grinned. It wasn’t a pleasant grin--one full of mischief. Sephiroth found himself unnerved, even though Zack was not holding any kind of weapon. “Angeal invited me to dinner tonight.”

Sephiroth blinked. “Ah, yes. Today is Wednesday.”

“Soooo, I was wondering if I should bring anything! I mean, it’s my first time and it’s only polite right? Should I bring something?” Zack asked, grinning.

“I hardly think you need to,” Sephiroth commented. “Have you asked Angeal about this? Surely, if you were required to bring something, he could tell you.”

“He’s the host! I can’t ask the host! And I can’t trust Genesis to tell me the truth either! I don’t wanna mess this up, you know?”

Sephiroth didn’t quite understand. “If he’s the host, wouldn’t he be the _perfect_ person to ask?”

Zack rolled his eyes. “Come on, Seph! If he’s the host, he’s _obviously_ gonna say ‘no’. But it’s not about what he _says_ . I _want_ to bring something. But I don’t know _what_ to bring.”

Pausing in his current stack of papers, Sephiroth blinked at Zack, considering his words. If Angeal said not to bring something, Sephiroth wouldn’t. It was as simple as that, wasn’t it? But what Zack was saying was… what? That he felt obligated to bring something anyway? Something about it being polite?

And _what_ did Zack just call him?

“I want to make him happy and I figure that you would know more about his likes and dislikes! What should I bring, Seph?” Zack asked, pouting.

Sephiroth found his mouth opening to address the nickname before freezing when Cloud spoke in his head.

‘ _Just tell him something Angeal would enjoy,_ ’ Cloud sighed. ‘ _He’s not going to go away otherwise._ ’

Mouth snapping shut, Sephiroth sighed deeply, his shoulders slumping. “Angeal likes plants. If you can get him something related to that, I’m sure he’ll be happy.”

“Plants...” Zack repeated. “Hmmm, okay! I know just the thing!”

Zack exited the same way he entered. Loudly.

Slowly, Sephiroth turned his attention inward, putting his pen down and closing his eyes. ‘ _Cloud?_ ’

Cloud didn’t immediately respond, but Sephiroth could tell he was listening.

‘ _Why does Zackary bother you that much?_ ’ Sephiroth asked. 

‘ _I… he doesn’t,_ ’ Cloud said hesitantly. ‘ _He doesn’t bother me._ ’

Sephiroth could _feel_ the lie, just as he could feel Cloud’s emotions. He wondered if it was okay to pry, or if this was a sensitive topic for Cloud.

‘ _Cloud…_ ’

Uneasiness flowed through the mental link, followed by a little bit of _shame_ and _regret_. Sephiroth blinked at the flow of emotion from Cloud, his eyes adjusting to the bright lights of his office. He looked down at the paper he had been reading without seeing the words.

‘ _Cloud, I won’t pry if you don’t want to tell me,_ ’ Sephiroth said finally. ‘ _But considering that you are always the one who speaks about being honest to myself and talking me through_ my _emotions, I would like you to know that I am available if you would like me to talk you through yours._ ’

‘ _It’s..._ ’

‘ _Cloud, if you say it’s nothing, I will be angry._ ’

‘ _..._ ’

‘ _You know that is a lie. I can feel that it is a lie. So please, don’t lie to yourself._ ’

Sephiroth knew that he couldn’t force Cloud to talk. But that didn’t mean that Cloud didn’t need someone too. And since Sephiroth was the only person who could talk to Cloud, he would have to do it.

Truthfully, even muddling through social conversations and situations with Cloud in his head providing hints and commentary, Sephiroth wasn’t particularly confident in his ability to talk someone through their emotions. But if Cloud needed him, Sephiroth would be there for him. Everything else was inconsequential.

‘ _I’m sorry._ ’

Sephiroth blinked at the sudden apology. He wasn’t sure why Cloud felt the need to apologize.

‘ _I don’t--_ ’ Sephiroth began, but Cloud cut over him.

‘ _I won’t tell you. Because it is something that won’t happen. So you shouldn’t be burdened with the knowledge. It’s my burden to bear._ ’

Frowning, Sephiroth found it in himself to be slightly insulted. ‘ _If you’re trying to imply I won’t understand..._ ’

‘ _No. That’s not it,_ ’ Cloud answered. ‘ _You would understand. It’s just… you don’t need to understand. Because it is something that won’t happen. Because the_ you _here… Sephiroth, you won’t let it happen. You have friends. Connections. And as long as you have that and continue to nurture that, then it will never be that bad._ ’

The wording was strange. Almost as if Cloud knew another version of him, another Sephiroth. Sephiroth blinked, the thought rolling around in his head like a ball. ‘ _The ‘me’ here? It sounds like you knew another me somewhere else._ ’

Cloud’s silence was telling. Sephiroth sighed, leaning back and putting down his pen, looking at the ceiling without actually seeing it. ‘ _Alright. Then, let’s do this. I’ll say something. A hypothetical something. And you tell me if it’s right. Is that acceptable?_ ’

‘ _Fine._ ’

Sephiroth was a little surprised to hear Cloud’s agreement to this. But it didn’t phase him for long. ‘ _You know another me._ ’

‘ _...yes._ ’

‘ _And this other version of me… did not like you._ ’

‘ _I don’t know. It was hard to say._ ’

Sephiroth didn’t really know _what_ to make of _that_ . But he continued anyway. ‘ _Then_ you _did not like this other version of me._ ’

‘ _No. I did not._ ’

‘ _You were particularly frightened when I was angry. I can only assume the reason for this was because of the other me._ ’

‘ _...yes._ ’

‘ _This other version of me… they hurt you._ ’

‘ _...yes._ ’

That was unsettling. Sephiroth couldn’t contemplate hurting the one who was in his head, although, perhaps that was because…

‘ _You weren’t just a voice in his head like you are in mine. You were a person, weren’t you?_ ’

Cloud’s silence echoed in his head, but then he let out a small, choked, ‘ _Yes._ ’

The reaction from Cloud made Sephiroth’s hackles rise in a wave of protectiveness. Because he knew the answer to his next question, and he did not like it. ‘ _But he did not treat you like a person._ ’

There was a small, almost inaudible sob from Cloud. Sephiroth found himself smashing the table with his fist, breaking it in two with a flurry of splintered wood. He stormed out of the office with a swish of his black leather jacket, making his way to the training room and crushing the door handle in his fist. He stalked in, scattering the Seconds that had been using the training room at the time, the tenseness in his frame barely holding his fury at bay. He could feel Cloud retreating in his mind, trying to shy away from his anger, which only served to infuriate him even more.

Sephiroth slammed the highest level on the training program and pressed START with a shaking finger, Masamune drawn at his side.

He slammed his fist into one of the simulated monsters in frustration, Masamune flashing in the fake night sky. Monster after monster fell to his blade, vanishing in the simulation, only to be replaced by others. This program was scheduled to run for ten minutes, with each monster a higher level than the last, up until they tapped out or defeated the monster at level fifty. 

Only after he had plowed through the program twice (once in six minutes and twelve seconds and the second in four minutes and thirty-three seconds) did he feel like he was ready to speak again.

‘ _I’m sorry._ ’ Sephiroth offered Cloud, knowing that it meant nothing to Cloud. Sephiroth couldn’t take that kind of pain away; he didn’t know how to heal that kind of trauma.

He felt Cloud uncurl a little, the hesitation and fear melting a little.

‘ _I’m not angry at you. I’m angry at the other me,_ ’ Sephiroth explained. ‘ _I… Listen, Cloud. I don’t know if you’re permanently stuck in my head or whatever. But I want to_ help _you. I don’t know how though._ ’

‘ _...I don’t know either,_ ’ Cloud admitted quietly. ‘ _You aren’t him. And I can trust that you won’t do what he did… but..._ ’

‘ _It still hurts?_ ’ Sephiroth offered. ‘ _Or are you worried I might_ become _him?_ ’

‘ _I’ve known you long enough not to be afraid of that possibility. You_ aren’t _him. And you won’t become him if you choose not to. I can trust you won’t make that kind of choice,_ ’ Cloud said softly. ‘ _But your anger feels a lot like… his...._ ’

The admission made Sephiroth slump a little. He had worked on controlling his anger, even before he knew this little tidbit from Cloud. He hadn’t known _why_ his headmate had such an adverse reaction to that specific emotion, but in order to spare Cloud from feeling his anger, he had worked hard to fight against the emotion. 

‘ _...He was an idiot,_ ’ Sephiroth declared, clearing the settings in the training room and sheathing Masamune in one quick movement. ‘ _If he couldn’t appreciate what kind of wonderful person you are, then he was an idiot._ ’

Sephiroth was pleased to feel a thread of wary amusement from Cloud. 

‘ _It’s a little ironic, hearing it from you,_ ’ Cloud said.

‘ _It’s true though._ ’

‘ _I think he just… never got a chance to learn how to communicate effectively. And eventually, he just… stopped trying._ ’ Cloud shifted uncomfortably. ‘ _While I understand that… it doesn’t really help with the triggers._ ’

His hand froze on the training room door handle, his brow furrowed. Sephiroth considered this quietly and then looked at his hand carefully. If Sephiroth didn’t have Cloud in his head, gently guiding him along and working through his thoughts, perhaps he would have gone down the same path as his other self. It was hard to picture it. Hard to picture the emptiness in his head with the annoying buzzing that seemed so long ago.

So, he slowly opened the door, walking past the group of stunned Seconds and giving a small glance at the twisted handle on the outside of the training room door. He slowly made his way towards his apartment, holding Masamune loosely in his left hand. 

‘ _Did my other self hurt Zack too?_ ’

‘ _...yes, but that isn’t why I’ve been avoiding him._ ’

Sephiroth could tell that Cloud didn’t want to speak of it anymore. So, instead, he climbed the stairs to his apartment to get ready for dinner with Angeal, Genesis, and Zack. Then he thought about Zack and his quest to find a gift and paused. He had never done this before, but perhaps it wouldn’t hurt to just… try?

‘ _Since Zack is getting something for Angeal, maybe I should get something for Genesis,_ ’ Sephiroth mused. He wondered if the redhead would punch him or kiss him if he got him a ticket to the new LOVELESS production.

Cloud’s amusement filtered through his mind in a pleasant haze.

\--

The revelation made Sephiroth both frustrated and angry. Angry that his other self would damage Cloud to the degree that even the slightest shift of Sephiroth’s emotion to anger could trigger Cloud’s instincts. Sephiroth knew that Cloud clearly did not have a good relationship with the Sephiroth in his mind. If the other Sephiroth was some kind of abusive lover, then Sephiroth could _maybe_ understand. But somehow, he knew that it was deeper, more traumatizing, more sinister than that. Maybe it was because Sephiroth knew himself well enough to understand that, if he hated someone, he would systematically work to _break_ them.

And it appeared… that for whatever reason, his other self had found a reason to break Cloud.

It pissed him off. It raised every protective instinct in his body. It made him illogically angry. It made him want to _fight_ his other self and _break_ him like he had broken Cloud. And poor Cloud… Cloud who picked up the pieces. Perhaps with friends on his side. Perhaps without. Cloud was torn from what he knew and chucked into Sephiroth’s mind. Forced to struggle with the knowledge he had and treat the Sephiroth here with some semblance of respect and dignity, hiding his own anger, distaste, fear, in order to give the younger Sephiroth a chance.

Most of all, Sephiroth was pissed at _himself_ for not seeing the signs. The silence Cloud had developed for the first few years after he had been dropped in Sephiroth’s mind was concerning, now that Sephiroth knew Cloud’s reasons for remaining silent. Cloud clearly had far more practice shutting himself away from Sephiroth which said a lot about what kind of torment his other self had put Cloud through. And every time Sephiroth had gotten angry and _Cloud_ had talked him down, Cloud would break a little more, falling silent in his mind, choosing to suffer silently rather than let Sephiroth know that he was having flashbacks, picking up the fragmented pieces of his heart and putting himself together every time. 

But…

Cloud had given him the chance. It was a precious thing, even though Sephiroth didn’t know of the significance at the time. He had chosen to trust Sephiroth over the knowledge of his memories. Sephiroth understood this and it was the only reason he couldn’t be _too_ mad at himself. Cloud was clearly good at hiding his own emotions away in a way that Sephiroth couldn’t replicate. If Cloud had chosen to suffer in silence for Sephiroth, then there wasn’t really anything Sephiroth could do to stop him, especially if he didn’t know and Cloud did not _want_ him to know.

Sephiroth wondered what Cloud looked like. Did he have black hair like Angeal? Red hair like Genesis? Did he have mako-colored blue eyes, or were his eyes a normal shade of brown or black? Did he have a strong, broad-frame, or was he thin and skinny. Was he even a SOLDIER?

Cloud never really talked about himself. Whether it was because Cloud believed he wasn’t important or whether Cloud cared more about Sephiroth than himself, didn’t matter. That would change today.

‘ _What do you look like, Cloud?_ ’ Sephiroth asked, curious.

‘ _...Why are you asking?_ ’ Cloud asked right back. His tone was guarded, but firm. ‘ _I_ _t’s not like I have a body to show you. I’m just a voice in your head, remember?_ ’

‘ _Yes. But you were once a person. You_ are _a person. Maybe not in this reality, but it doesn’t change that you have your own thoughts and feelings. So I was wondering what you looked like,_ ’ Sephiroth explained. 

Cloud paused, considering the words. Sephiroth could feel the moment Cloud relented. ‘ _Would you prefer a description or should I just share a memory?_ ’

‘ _You can do that?!_ ’ Sephiroth’s pen in his hand paused, causing a blot of ink to slowly spread onto the white paper. But he didn’t notice.

Someone had cleared away the broken desk and brought a temporary one for Sephiroth to work on. Sephiroth didn’t particularly care for it.

‘ _We’re more connected than you know,_ ’ Cloud admitted. ‘ _So, yes, I can do that. Just close your eyes and let me guide you._ ’

Sephiroth slowly lowered the pen and closed his eyes, folding his hands on his lap. Slowly, Cloud’s presence in his mind grew, embracing him into his hold and carefully guiding him through the whirl of colors and smells until the world became clear and he was settled in.

[“Don’t forget to bring the slip, Cloud!” a woman’s voice sounded from the next room. Sephiroth felt himself buckle a belt from a harness and pause at the woman’s voice.

“I know, Tifa,” he answered back. Then he looked in the mirror.

Sephiroth found himself unable to breathe as he stared at the clear mako-blue eyes in the mirror and the wild spiky blond hair. Cloud’s frame was small, but well built, his arms muscular and strong. The high collar of the zip-up turtleneck was clearly hiding a powerful torso. His left arm was covered by a half coat, a single pauldron sitting on his shoulder with a wolf broach. The pants and boots only accentuated his frame as he leaned over to tie the laces.

Cloud looked in the mirror to adjust the broach before turning away and slinging a massive buster-like blade onto his back. Then the memory faded in a whirl of color.]

Sephiroth opened his eyes to find himself back in his office, the pen rolling idly to lightly tap against a stack of papers. His eyes were wide and he slowly inhaled and exhaled, his heart clenching in a painful way. This was _Cloud_. 

‘ _How old were you, in that memory?_ ’ Sephiroth asked softly.

‘ _Probably around twenty-six or so?_ ’ Cloud answered. ‘ _I didn’t keep track._ ’

Twenty-six. Gaia, that was young. Maybe because he was still recovering from the memory and the _sight_ of Cloud that Sephiroth said his next words.

‘ _You are very attractive._ ’

Instantly, Sephiroth found the mental link he had with Cloud flush with embarrassment. He wondered what it would look like on Cloud’s pale cheeks, if he would blush on his cheeks or his ears would turn red. Amusing, would be putting it lightly.

‘ _Shut up!_ ’

But there was no heat behind Cloud’s embarrassed words.

\--

‘ _Is Hojo the reason you’re in my head?_ ’

Sephiroth’s question was innocent, mostly. But Cloud’s presence in his mind immediately stonewalled, his emotions stiff. Sephiroth knew that the other had heard his question, but was purposefully choosing to remain silent.

‘ _Is he someone who… must not be allowed to live…? Someone who has your body hostage?_ ’ Sephiroth elaborated, looking at the pen in his hands. 

‘ _I do not understand what you are saying, Sephiroth._ ’

But Cloud _did_ . Sephiroth could feel it through their link. Cloud knew _exactly_ what Sephiroth spoke of.

Suddenly considering whether he wanted to push on the subject, Sephiroth paused. It was one thing if Sephiroth found proof that Hojo had been doing this, but it was another to ask Cloud about it. And if Cloud did spend any amount of time with Hojo, it was, no doubt, traumatizing. Sephiroth would rather confirm it with Cloud than to go back to the Science Department to snoop.

‘ _I mean, does Hojo have your body in the Science Department. Do I need to stage a break in to get your body back and dispose of a certain doctor?_ ’

‘ _..._ ’

Whether or not Cloud was going to tell him the truth, Sephiroth didn’t wait to find out before he spoke again. ‘ _I would, you know. Kill my father for you. Hojo is not a good man. If you wished it, it would be that._ ’

‘ _I… I don’t… why would you go so far for me?_ ’ Cloud asked, seemingly struggling with the words. ‘ _You shouldn’t say things like that so easily._ ’

‘ _I regretted taking lives in Wutai, Cloud. But you cannot tell me to regret taking Hojo’s life if he is truly the one who ripped you from your body and put you in my head,_ ’ Sephiroth stated. 

‘ _Hojo does not have my body in the Science Department. More than likely, my body here is still a child, probably with a version of me that you would not recognize,_ ’ Cloud seemed reluctant to answer this. Sephiroth paused, blinking slowly. 

‘ _Another version of you?_ ’ he repeated.

‘ _Just as I know a different Sephiroth, I imagine there is a different Cloud here too,_ ’ Cloud sighed. ‘ _He’ll probably be looking to join soon._ ’

‘ _He’s not you. The one who I want to meet is_ you.’

The admission left Cloud silent and Sephiroth felt himself flush with embarrassment. But for whatever reason, all he felt from Cloud was a gentle sadness.

‘ _Sephiroth..._ ’

As much as Sephiroth liked hearing Cloud say his name, he pressed forward, ignoring the flush on his cheeks. Cloud couldn’t see it anyway, even if he could feel it from their link. ‘ _Tell me how to help you?_ ’

‘ _Sephiroth, there isn’t anything you can do. I don’t know how or why I am here. So I have nothing as to how to fix this. One day, I might just vanish as suddenly as I appeared._ ’

That wasn’t the answer Sephiroth wanted. But he could tell that Cloud was being genuine in his words. Sephiroth slowly took a breath, closing his eyes. 

‘ _If I brought your counterpart in… perhaps he is a clue._ ’

A whirlwind of emotion passed through their bond. ‘ _No._ ’

Sephiroth blinked, wondering why Cloud was so against the idea.

‘ _There is a time and place, Sephiroth. Cloud from this world would be a child. And Shinra is no place for children,_ ’ Cloud reminded gently. Sephiroth hesitated before slowly nodding. 

‘ _Then I will take a trip to visit your counterpart,_ ’ Sephiroth said. ‘ _Surely… you would like some answers sooner rather than later?_ ’

‘ _I can wait for answers, Sephiroth,_ ’ Cloud sighed. ‘ _There is no need to rush things._ ’ He paused and then added, ‘ _Sephiroth?_ ’

Sephiroth blinked at the address, tapping his finger against the wooden desk. ‘ _Yes?_ ’

‘ _Don’t look for my counterpart. Instead, find out the truth about yourself. Remember how I mentioned Hojo was a liar?_ ’

‘ _You mentioned it many times._ ’

‘ _Well, he lied to you about a lot of your heritage. So you should look for the truth._ ’

‘ _You could just tell me._ ’

‘ _Would you even believe me if I did?_ ’

Sephiroth scoffed, pushing his chair away from the desk and standing, moving in front of the window to stare out at the lights in the distance, shining like stars on the ground. ‘ _Cloud, I probably trust you more than I trust myself at this point. I can tell when you lie, just as you can tell when I lie._ ’

Cloud remained silent for a bit. ‘ _It is unpleasant._ ’

‘ _I expected it to be._ ’ Sephiroth sighed, taking his keys and locking up for the evening. ‘ _But you’re with me. So however unpleasant it is, I’m sure that we can get through it together._ ’

The shock of learning about his heritage made Sephiroth completely forget that Cloud had sidestepped his initial question. 

\--

It was only after Sephiroth had retired for the evening (or was it early morning?) that he thought about the situation. His _creation_ under Hojo’s hands. His childhood in the lab. The person Hojo claimed as his mother, Jenova… But Cloud hadn’t told him anything about why Cloud was in his head, or where he was in this whole story.

Clearly, Cloud knew more than he let on. Or, perhaps he didn’t _know_. Perhaps he only had theories. Theories that were better than nothing.

Well, Cloud had, once again, shut himself off from Sephiroth. It wasn’t unusual for Cloud to do so. When he revealed information… or when he simply wanted some privacy… or when he thought _Sephiroth_ wanted privacy… Cloud would usually shut himself off from him, leaving him to his thoughts. But, once again, Sephiroth wished that Cloud would confide in him and leave himself open for Sephiroth. 

Sephiroth didn’t want privacy. Sephiroth wanted Cloud.

But if Cloud wanted privacy, then Sephiroth wouldn’t say anything. It must have been very hard for Cloud not to retreat after all, since the other Sephiroth had hurt Cloud so badly. To be in Sephiroth’s mind was probably traumatizing, no matter what Cloud or Sephiroth said.

He decided to throw caution into the wind and prod the mental link he had with Cloud.

‘ _Cloud?_ ’ he asked softly in his mind, wondering if Cloud would feel it or respond.

Cloud’s presence shifted a little and he warily unfolded. ‘ _What?_ ’

‘ _Thank you for telling me._ ’ Sephiroth said, relieved that Cloud didn’t remain shut away in his head.

Cloud shifted again, opening himself up more. Sephiroth wondered if Cloud would sulk in the corner of his apartment if he had a body. Like a child that was hiding away from the world, peering out of his safety zone only when Sephiroth spoke to him.

‘ _It’s your past. You deserve to know,_ ’ Cloud said.

‘ _I’m glad I heard it from you. I don’t think I would have taken it well, if it was from anyone else._ ’

Cloud snorted and Sephiroth wondered if he _hadn’t_ taken it well in Cloud’s memories. 

‘ _Better to learn it from me than from whatever drivel Hojo had written down to trick you,_ ’ Cloud mused, giving a mental shrug. Sephiroth smiled at the new information.

‘ _You never told me how you fit into this, though. My other self… wouldn’t have been so obsessed with you if you weren’t anything special. Careless as he was in treating you,_ ’ Sephiroth’s tone became dangerous at the very implication of his other self hurting Cloud, ‘ _I doubt he would have spent so much time if you were just a regular SOLDIER._ ’

Cloud fell silent.

‘ _I..._ ’

‘ _We can play the same game as we did before, if it is easier for you._ ’ Sephiroth invited, his voice even. ‘ _I give hypothetical scenarios or questions, and you either agree or disagree._ ’

‘ _I doubt you’d be able to guess the reason why,_ ’ Cloud said slowly. ‘ _I suppose you ought to know. If nothing else, it’ll stop you from making the same mistake again._ ’

‘ _I’d rather know because I want to know more about you._ ’

Perhaps that was the wrong thing to say because Cloud fell silent at that. Sephiroth could practically feel the suspicion and wariness coming off Cloud in droves. He gave a mental chuckle at that, his lips curling into a smile.

‘ _Is it so wrong that I would want to know more about my headmate? We’ve known each other for years now. And you know so much about me, but I barely know anything about you,_ ’ Sephiroth explained gently. ‘ _You said that I wouldn’t become the version of Sephiroth you knew. So how about you have a little faith in me?_ ’

Sephiroth felt the moment Cloud’s emotions settled into a wary agreement.

‘ _I guess... I never made it into SOLDIER, the first time. We met when I was in the infantry. I don’t think you even knew who I was. I was just the infantry who happened to know the area and was put on the same mission as you._ ’

Sephiroth wanted to question this fact, because it was _clear_ that Cloud had enhancements based on the memory he had shown him. And they weren’t just any kind of enhancements either. They were pretty intense, on par with his own, perhaps. But he remained silent to allow Cloud to finish, lest Cloud lose his nerve.

‘ _There was a mission in Nibelheim. You… I think Hojo must have planted some kind of information there for you to find and you… lost it. You were convinced you were the ruler of the planet or whatever and you were going to take back the planet from humans. As in, kill all the humans and rule the planet with Jenova’s corpse… There might have been some mind control from Jenova in there too. She seemed to speak to you, or something..._ ’

And, like that, Sephiroth started to feel a little queasy. It was all too easy for Sephiroth to picture this as it went down. Because if he didn’t have Cloud explaining to him his past, then Sephiroth would naturally believe the lies that Hojo would have fed him. And he could guess what happened next.

‘ _I… We had to stop you. I was only an infantryman though. There wasn’t much I could do. But… I did deliver the killing blow. I guess you didn’t think of me as a threat or something since you turned away from me after stabbing me. I killed you._ ’

Clearly, there was more to the story than that. Because if that was it, the other Sephiroth would not have been as fixated as he was. How fixated could someone be if they died?

‘ _Your will was too strong to be absorbed by the Lifestream. So you kept coming back. And I guess Hojo was mad that I killed you so he..._ ’

Fuck. Well, that answered that question. 

‘ _What did he do to you?!_ ’ Sephiroth’s voice was cold, but not angry. No, this was a cold dread. The kind that you experienced right after jumping out of a plane and before you started falling. An instinctual dread that he had for all of the Science Department.

Cloud seemed relieved to hear the tone. As if hearing the words come from Sephiroth had made the next ones easier. ‘ _He tried to make me a clone of you._ ’

‘ _A clone--?!_ ’

‘ _He failed, of course. Your genetics are special in the sense that you can’t be cloned. But he shoved me full of mako, full of your cells, in an attempt anyway. I spent four years in his lab, under his knife, getting picked apart during the attempt._ ’

Hojo was going to die for this. It didn’t matter that it hadn’t happened yet, or maybe would never happen. But Sephiroth knew that the madman was capable of this. Hojo wouldn’t even bat a lash, wouldn’t even hesitate to do it too.

‘ _The Sephiroth I knew… he used the connection to manipulate me. He just kept coming back and I just kept… killing him._ ’

Sephiroth felt the hurt and pain from Cloud, slowly reaching for him mentally and squeezing him gently. It felt _right_ to do this, to comfort him. Cloud didn’t resist, but he didn’t return it either. But that was fine. This was for Cloud. Not for himself.

Gaia, he wished Cloud had a body. It would be so much easier.

‘ _Is that why you are in my head?_ ’

‘ _Most likely. The S-cells that were inside me probably provided the link. But it is strange… I don’t have a body here. So, it’s not like I have any S-cells in your head._ ’

That _was_ strange. But maybe not as odd as Cloud thought.

‘ _Maybe the link was enough to tie your mind to mine,_ ’ Sephiroth said carefully. ‘ _I’m glad it did though. I don’t want to imagine what it would have been like if you didn’t fill the hole in my head._ ’ He paused before revealing a little bit of information that he had never told Cloud. ‘ _You know, before you came along, there was a buzzing in my head. Like static. But since your arrival, it’s been gone._ ’

Cloud didn’t seem to know what to think of that. ‘ _You had an ability after you absorbed Jenova. Hojo wrote about it. The Reunion Theory. Anyone with your cells… Jenova-laced cells, that is… would hear it when you called for them. And they’d go to you. Perhaps that is what the buzzing was. You were hearing Jenova’s Reunion call._ ’

Sephiroth shivered. ‘ _I haven’t felt it since you came._ ’ He was grateful for that, at least.

‘ _I… am afraid that, if I get my body back, your other self would use the link to come here._ ’

The admission was unexpected, but welcome. It meant that Cloud was opening up to Sephiroth in a way he never had before. To share his concerns instead of bottling up and expecting the worst.

‘ _This world is peaceful. Well, more peaceful than mine, anyway. I do not want to be the reason he sets it to ruin. And he is capable of doing so too._ ’

Sephiroth fell silent, wondering how he was going to solve this little issue. It wasn’t as easy as saying that he would go take himself down. The other Sephiroth was clearly stronger than himself, being older and somehow coming back to life again and again. How do you kill someone who wouldn’t stay dead?

‘ _We’ll have to think of something,_ ’ Sephiroth said slowly. ‘ _I’m glad you shared that concern with me though. It is definitely something we’ll have to think about when we get your body from somewhere._ ’

Cloud remained silent, but Sephiroth was grateful that he didn’t shut himself away again.

\--

Sephiroth was twenty when it happened.

Zackary brought one of his cadet friends over to Sephiroth’s office, which was a little unusual in itself, since Sephiroth wasn’t exactly the most talkative person and generally avoided other people. Zackary knew this and would avoid introducing Sephiroth to people, in order not to make Sephiroth uncomfortable. However, Sephiroth understood when he laid eyes on the cadet.

The boy was tiny. Sephiroth guessed that the boy couldn't have been more than ten or eleven years old (even though cadets had to be fourteen to enroll in the program). The child barely came up to Zackary’s shoulder. Sephiroth chose to ignore Zack's enthusiastic "Seph, this is Spikey! It's his first day in the program and he wanted to talk to you! Something about knowing you or something?" 

Bright blue eyes (there was _way_ too much mako in those blue eyes _; what the fuck?!_ ) stared up at him in wonder, but strangely enough, not shock. And then the smaller Cloud spoke.

“It’s the General, Zack! The real one!”

 _Oh_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so, first work I've ever posted!  
> I've been lurking on AO3 for a while. But I figure, it's finally time for me to post SOMETHING.
> 
> Admittedly, I've read the wiki, but never played any of the games. So, apologies if I got anything wrong!
> 
> This work was totally inspired by CloudStrifeIsMySpiritAnimal's [Telling Time with a Broken Watch](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27354790/chapters/66840859)! Go read it if you haven't!


	2. And Vice-Versa

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let it be known I am not good at writing chapter fics.
> 
> Probably because I lose track of time and write until I nearly drop. Quality of work degrades too. And I have work that MUST NOT suffer as a result of my sleep-deprived state.
> 
> This section was inspired by all the Pichu and Sephiroth memes, by the way. Because Cloud is a Pichu and must be protected at all costs.

Sephiroth woke with a fuzzy feeling.

Which was odd, all considering. Usually he woke with full awareness and with the desperate obsession to _find Cloud, see him, battle with him_ , but this time, he was slowly gaining awareness. Like he was puddled under Angeal’s many stuffed animals that Genesis had stacked around him during the night. And the desperation to find Cloud was strangely absent.

Stupid two-way Reunion.

‘ _Where… am I?_ ’

Sephiroth found out exactly why the desire to seek out Cloud was absent when a ten year old Cloud blinked into a mirror, his blue eyes wide.

“Seph--Sephiroth?! Is it really you General?!”

Oh… boy. 

Well, he could work with this.

 _‘Hello Cloud_.’

It was weird, all in all, to see the ten year old’s hero worship of him. It made Sephiroth slightly uncomfortable to be held to those kinds of expectations. But there was something innocent about it too. Something that made Sephiroth hesitate in attempting to drag out traumas and despair from the ten year old. Even if Sephiroth was bored out of his mind in ten year old Cloud’s head.

Cloud was, as all children were, a rambunctious child. He explored the mountains and avoided the people in the town. Sephiroth could hear the disapproval mutters of the adults, just as well as Cloud could. Perhaps he could _use_ this at another time?

“So, Mister General? Why are you in my head?” Cloud asked, looking at the cold winter sky lined with grey clouds.

‘ _Wish I knew,_ ’ Sephiroth responded. ‘ _Say, Cloud? Why do you let those people treat you like that? You heard them talk badly about your mother and you._ ’

Cloud shifted, bringing his legs in his body and wrapping his arms around his knees. “It’s not their fault. Mr. Lockhart was super mad when Teef got injured.”

Sephiroth felt the guilt just as easily as Cloud did. Which made sense, considering they shared a head. ‘ _And you’re okay with that? You don’t want to… get them back?_ ’

“I mean… It is my fault that Teef got hurt. I should have stopped her,” Cloud said, playing with the snow with his boots. “So I’m not that mad at the adults. Plus, I can’t do anything. I’m ten, Mister General.”

Falling silent, Sephiroth reflected on his own past as a ten year old. Was he ever this helpless? He probably was. He had allowed Hojo and the President to control him far too long in his old life. Adding to that, it didn’t appear the Cloud, while clearly more free to do his own things, didn’t have much of a happy childhood. Plus, it wasn’t like Cloud could hold a sword with those stick arms.

Admittedly, Sephiroth had never really considered what kind of food was eaten by those not of his status. He knew that the slums were poor, but this…? Some days, Cloud would go an entire day with only a piece of bread. It didn’t help that the villagers only sold the worst cuts of meat and bone to Cloud’s mother.

“Mister General?” Cloud’s small voice brought Sephiroth back to the conversation.

‘ _Well. This won’t do. I’ll teach you how to use a sword and you can hunt,_ ’ Sephiroth said. ‘ _Do you have a sword?_ ’

“We don’t have things like that here,” Cloud said, bewildered. “Only adults who go out hunting. They don’t sell swords in Nibelheim.”

Sephiroth wondered if he could bang his head against Cloud’s mind in an attempt to alleviate frustration. Sephiroth wasn’t about to suggest the ten year old go breaking into people’s homes in an effort to steal a sword. It would only end badly for the little blond. And if Sephiroth wanted a chance to _fight_ the blond when he was older, Cloud wasn’t allowed to starve here. Instead, he replied, ‘ _Alright. What_ do _you have here?_ ’

“Nothing really, Mister General,” Cloud shrugged innocently. “Maybe there’s something in the old mansion or reactor, but I’m not allowed to go there. There are monsters there.”

‘ _..._ ’ Sephiroth sighed heavily and slowly considered his options. ‘ _If your mother can spare a bone, I can teach you to fashion it into a blade. It won’t be very strong, but it should be durable enough to hunt with._ ’

“Wow! Really, Mister General! You know a lot!” Cloud perked up. “I’ll go ask her right now.”

\--

Sephiroth taught Cloud how to hunt. He constantly had to remind himself that Cloud was a _child_ and did not have any memories of his past life (other life? future?) and therefore did not know _anything_. Step by step, Sephiroth taught Cloud how to kill, skin, and cook the flesh of his kills. Cloud always insisted on bringing them home to his Ma, who was initially wary of Cloud’s antics but slowly became appreciative of his efforts.

Soon, Cloud killed wolves with efficiency, though he would always stop at two per week. Sephiroth found out _why_ after urging Cloud to kill a third. 

“We shouldn’t over-hunt the population, Mister General. Ma said that we should only take what we need and leave the others for later,” Cloud said, hauling his kill down the mountain. “We need to maintain the balance with the wolves to be able to eat next winter.”

Which made sense, Sephiroth supposed. Over-harvesting mako had led to Shinra’s downfall. He supposed that he should have felt a little bit outraged that this backwater town of nowhere practiced the idea of restraint, while Shinra ignored all the signs. 

‘ _I see. You should get yourself some kind of blade soon,_ ’ Sephiroth said. ‘ _Something small and light to fit your frame. Without mako enhancements..._ ’ Sephiroth trailed off slowly, recalling from one of the reports so long ago that Mt. Nibel had quite a few natural mako springs. ‘ _Actually, Cloud. Didn’t you say you wanted to be a SOLDIER? Just like me?_ ’

Innocent little Cloud blinked and grinned, “Sure did, Mister General!”

‘ _Well, we can get you started early on your mako treatments,_ ’ Sephiroth cooed softly. ‘ _Don’t you want to be a big strong SOLDIER like me?_ ’

“Sure, Mister General. What do I do?” Cloud asked.

_Excellent._

\--

Cloud had mako sensitivity.

It was very unpleasant. Sephiroth reflected on this when Cloud spent over a week comatose after jumping into a mako pool after Sephiroth directed him to go in.

The nagging feeling in Sephiroth’s heart was unpleasant and only seemed to grow each passing hour and day Cloud remained unresponsive and comatose. He started to miss the ten year old’s chatter by the second day. By the third, he was poking around in Cloud’s mind, trying to get Cloud to react or wake. Somehow. But it was proving harder than ever, since Cloud’s ten year old mind didn’t have any semblance of structure or organization or even logic.

Sephiroth found out that he couldn’t control Cloud’s comatose body, or even make _suggestions_ to Cloud’s mind while the boy was comatose. It was frustrating beyond belief. But by the sixth day, Sephiroth was hoping the boy would wake soon, missing their routine and hunts.

He wondered when he had started to become comfortable in the ten year old’s presence. But this wasn’t just a ten year old. This was Cloud.

Damnit.

His initial anger had cooled within the first day. After all, it wasn’t like Cloud had known that he had mako sensitivity. And it wasn’t like Sephiroth had known this little fact either. He had simply assumed Cloud’s initial mako poisoning was due to Hojo.

And he’d be damned if he sent little Cloud to Hojo for whatever reason.

Which meant, Hojo had to go.

And since Sephiroth didn’t have a body and couldn’t control Cloud, little Cloud would have to do the deed.

He supposed he felt a little bit guilty for that. Cloud wasn’t a natural born killer like him, and, if Sephiroth was honest with himself, he didn’t _want_ Cloud to be a mindless killer. He much preferred the Cloud that displayed all sorts of emotion in front of him. Like grief and anger and…

The image of a ten year old Cloud’s trusting face peering into the pool of mako, reflected by the glowing green liquid before he jumped in.

Damnit!

Sephiroth hoped that Cloud would wake soon.

He wasn’t going to apologize. It was Cloud’s fault for being so weak, so pathetic, so trusting towards him. This would be a learning experience for the little boy--no matter how trustworthy someone seemed, they could still be looking for a way to stab you in the back.

If this was the adult Cloud, he’d probably be very angry at Sephiroth. He could come out of his coma, snarling and hissing, sword swinging, those bright blue eyes laced with mako burning with passion.

So when Cloud came out of his coma with a soft moan and a “I’m sorry Mister General. I don’t think it worked”, Sephiroth felt his anticipation shatter in the wake of the boy’s voice. Right, this was a child Cloud that had no sense of self-preservation and chose to dive into a mako pool just because _Sephiroth_ suggested it.

Big, fat tears started rolling down Cloud’s chubby cheeks and Sephiroth felt Cloud’s jumbled mess of emotion. Shame, embarrassment, frustration, self-doubt, anger, all rolled into a ball in Cloud’s mind. It was directed, not at Sephiroth, but at himself. For being so weak and failing to accomplish what General Sephiroth asked of him.

‘ _Stop it!_ ’

Sephiroth found himself extraordinarily irritated at Cloud’s self doubt and self flagellation. Was this what ran through the older Cloud’s head every time he failed to protect one of his friends from Sephiroth? Good grief, this was exhausting.

Though this could have been just a ten year old’s mind that felt this way. But it wouldn’t have surprised Sephiroth in the least if Cloud’s adult form did the same thing to himself.

Couldn’t Cloud see that he was worthy? That he was Sephiroth’s counterpart? Of course, this child Cloud couldn’t possibly understand that, but the adult one?

Sephiroth had expected more out of him.

Well, if Cloud couldn’t see how worthy he was--if this child wasn’t worthy yet--then Sephiroth would _make_ this child worthy of his counterpart. He would personally train this child, build his self confidence, and one day, when Sephiroth found a way out of Cloud’s head, they would battle.

But it seemed Cloud had a lot of growing up to do.

‘ _Don’t cry,_ ’ Sephiroth said exasperatedly. ‘ _Listen. You didn’t know you’d react that badly. I had no idea you were that sensitive to mako. It’s no one’s fault and you aren’t weak for falling into a mako coma after being exposed that much._ ’ He conveniently didn’t mention that the only reason Cloud was exposed to the entire pool via drowning himself in it was Sephiroth’s own idea. ‘ _So don’t cry. We can take it slow._ ’

The sniffles that shook Cloud’s shoulders lessened a little more and even more so when Cloud’s mother wrapped her arms around his shoulders in a gentle soothing motion. 

“Baby. Oh, Cloudy, are you feeling sick, darling?” Cloud’s mother cooed. “I’m glad you woke up. Is something the matter? Are you hurting?”

Cloud shook his head and clung onto his mother’s shirt, pressing against the warmth. He let out a shuddered breath and whimpered out, “I lost the bone knife in the mako, Ma. I’m sorry.”

Cloud’s mother scoffed. “I don’t care about the bone knife, darling. I am worried about _you_. I was so worried when you dragged yourself in the door, covered from head to toe in mako.”

Sephiroth didn’t remember that. Which meant, _Cloud_ didn’t remember that. It was probably instinctual then, for a mako poisoned Cloud to drag himself _home_. 

Was this supposed to be how a human mother was? Warm? Inviting? Terribly worried about their child, but choosing to comfort over scolding? Sephiroth found himself pressing towards the warm feeling of Cloud’s contentment, wondering if Jenova would have done this for him as a child…

“I’m sorry, Ma,” Cloud repeated, nuzzling her. Sephiroth felt his heart twist in guilt, although for what, Sephiroth didn’t know.

“I was thinking of getting you a proper sword for hunting anyway,” Cloud’s mother continued. “I made a deal with the butcher and the shop manager. Sixteen furs each for a standard sword from Midgar.”

Cloud looked up, his eyes still wet. “Oh, Ma… you...”

“My strong little wolf hunter,” Cloud’s mother cooed. “It’s time you got a blade of your own. You will need it in the future too.”

“Ma...”

“Cloud, you said you wanted to be a SOLDIER. I may not like the idea, but I believe in you. You can go anywhere you want, my little stormcloud,” Cloud’s mother sighed. “But please take care of yourself. You are an adult by Nibel standards as long as you can hunt for yourself.” She brought his head under her chin, rubbing his hair carefully. “Don’t do reckless things and make your Ma worry.”

Cloud slowly closed his eyes, nuzzling up to her. “Do you know how long it will take for me to get the sword?”

“The request was put in a while ago,” Cloud’s mother said. “So it shouldn’t be too much longer. Perhaps in early spring, after the snow starts to melt a little.”

Deliveries to Nibelheim were near impossible in the winter. The snow, ice, and weather made travel nearly impossible, so most deliveries were on hold during the winter. It also meant that the food that was eaten in the village was largely hunted by the residents. Cloud’s hunting skills had, at the very least, stopped the adults from badmouthing him.

The other children, on the other hand, had taken to chasing Cloud around, convinced that Cloud or his mother had done something to the adults. As a result, Cloud had become very good at running away. 

That would change with a blade. Cloud would be able to fight back.

Sephiroth mentally added stances and kata to his rapidly growing list of things to work on.

Mako treatments would be a must, if Cloud wanted to be in SOLDIER, so they would have to continue those. And Cloud needed practice sword or not.

Cloud slumped, exhausted and sleepy. He smiled at his mother and slowly leaned back on the bed, closing his eyes. Sephiroth didn’t even notice when he began relaxing in the warm embrace too.

\--

It was slow progress.

Cloud wasn’t exactly stupid. But Sephiroth didn’t really have a body, so he had to rely on Cloud’s vision and body movements to determine if Cloud was in a proper stance. It was like directing a puppet to dance without the strings. Inefficient and slow.

It took time. Much longer than what Sephiroth would have liked. Slowly, but surely, Cloud built up stamina and speed, the mako treatments enhancing him as he practiced, following the training regiment.

There were mistakes along the way too. Sometimes, Cloud would push himself too hard and wind up gasping for air, light-headed and dizzy from overexertion. Sometimes, Sephiroth would demand too much for the child, only to rear back when realized that Cloud couldn’t do what he was asking. It was hard to train someone when you weren’t able to control them.

The sword came in the spring, and with it, the monsters. Having hibernated in the winter, the beasts came down to circle around the town, hungry for flesh and blood. The villagers worked together to thin the ranks, but it was clear that the champion of them all was Cloud, who had been practicing all winter for this.

Cloud sliced through the monsters with ease, watching as they vanished from sight and back into the Lifestream. The beasts recoiled away from him, away from those too bright blue eyes and the too sharp steel blade. 

It made Sephiroth preen internally, to see Cloud hold his own. Even if it was to save this miserable town who dismissed Cloud’s presence as a nuisance. 

Cloud was strong enough now, had a weapon, that it was time to see if Mother was in the reactor nearby.

Sephiroth directed Cloud towards the mansion first, clearing out the monsters in the rooms and cleaning out the dust that had settled in the mansion. Cloud paused in the underground library, never having seen so many books in one place.

‘ _You can ignore what’s here. I already know what’s written here,_ ’ Sephiroth stated to Cloud, but Cloud blinked.

“Mister General? Can you teach me to read more difficult books?” Cloud asked, looking at the piles and piles of books. “Nibelheim doesn’t exactly have much of a school.”

‘ _..._ ’ Sephiroth sighed internally, his brow furrowed. ‘ _Not now, Cloud._ ’ 

Cloud’s disappointment was easily felt through the link, but he turned away from the library, only to immediately trip over a stack of books, sending the whole thing crashing down on his head. The boy winced as he rubbed his head, muttering, “Ow, ow, ow!”

‘ _It seems we will need to work on your awareness,_ ’ Sephiroth sighed as Cloud glanced over the books he had tripped on. Suddenly, Sephiroth spotted a familiar name and he shouted, ‘ _Wait! Cloud! That book by your knee!_ ’

“Huh?” Cloud blinked, looking at the book, He picked it up and squinted in the dim light, looking over at the words. “Professor Gast’s reports?”

Sephiroth ignored him, scanning the contents through Cloud’s eyes. His voice was stiff as he spoke, ‘ _Turn the page._ ’

Cloud did so, squinting at the words. He caught several phrases like _Jenova_ and _Cetra_ and _fusion theory_ which made very little sense to him. Sephiroth seemed to care more about the contents as he ordered Cloud to flip to the next page.

They spent a few hours like that, Sephiroth ignoring Cloud for the most part, only speaking when he wanted Cloud to turn to the next page. Cloud’s patience finally started to wear thin as they started on the third hour of this.

“Okay, Mister General,” he said loudly, grabbing a random paper and putting it in the book. “That’s enough!”

‘ _Cloud..._ ’ Sephiroth’s voice took a very hard edge. Even though Cloud couldn’t see the General, he knew that Sephiroth was mad. ‘ _Open the book back up, now!_ ’

“No!” Cloud said stubbornly. “That’s enough for now, Mister General. Ma will be mad if I stay out too long. But if it’s important to you, we can take it with us and we can go over it for a few more hours before bed. We can swap it for another book tomorrow if we finish this one, okay?”

‘ _Cloud…!_ ’ Sephiroth’s anger was white hot, burning against Cloud’s mind, but Cloud sent an internal glare right back, dousing the flame with a flick of his mind. Sephiroth’s shock didn’t last long though.

This _was_ still Cloud’s mind, after all. It made sense that Cloud held the most power in his mind; as long as he believed in it, it would happen. Still, it was a surprise to feel Cloud _defying_ him as a child, despite knowing what kind of adult he would grow up to be.

“Mister General, you’re the one that always tells me that I need to practice and move more so I can get stronger. We’ve been sitting here forever,” Cloud pouted, holding his sword loosely by his side. “If I need to move after sitting for too long, so do you.”

With his own words thrown back at him, Sephiroth didn’t think his spiritual jaw could drop anymore. He couldn’t even find in himself to address the fact that they hadn’t been “sitting there forever”. 

‘ _You cheeky brat!_ ’ Sephiroth growled, though the anger had cooled significantly. ‘ _Leave the book here. It’ll raise too many questions if we take it with us. I don’t think your mother would like it very much._ ’

“We can come back tomorrow, right Mister General?” Cloud chirped.

‘ _Yes. We can come back tomorrow,_ ’ Sephiroth agreed. He watched Cloud put the book onto a small table by the door, sighing mournfully at the reports he had just skimmed using Cloud’s eyes.

“Was it important to you, Mister General?” Cloud asked as they made their way towards the stairs.

‘ _Quite. It was important for me to know,_ ’ Sephiroth answered.

“Then that’s okay,” Cloud said as he squinted towards the top of the stairs, carefully stepping around the holes in the ground and stairs. “We’ll come back tomorrow and read some more.” Cloud tilted his head, listening to the wind whistling through the broken cracks in the windows. “You’re not angry anymore, right Mister General?”

‘ _If I was, would you go back and open the book again?_ ’

“Nope!”

Sephiroth chuckled in Cloud’s head. ‘ _Then there is no point in being angry. You are correct in saying that your mother would be angry if you stay out too long._ ’

“Yeah, Ma can be kind of scary. Was your Ma like that too?” Cloud asked.

Sephiroth fell silent as he considered the words. ‘ _I was told she died in childbirth. So, I don’t know..._ ’

“Oh...” Cloud paused, feeling bad for asking. “Well, that’s okay, Mister General. We can share my Ma! We can be brothers!”

Sephiroth wondered when this went all wrong. ‘ _I..._ ’

“Don’t worry, Mister General. I’m sure Ma would be happy to take you as a son!” Cloud said, oblivious to Sephiroth’s internal struggle and horror. “She’ll feed you her stew and we can share a bed. Oh, but you’re super tall in all the pictures… Maybe we can just pile on the floor or something.”

Surprise and horror faded as Sephiroth considered these words. _Could_ he have what Cloud was asking, if he never burned Nibelheim to the ground? Could he be the… brother… that Cloud was asking for. Would he even be satisfied with something like that? 

But the past was already set in stone. He couldn’t change what he had done to… _his_ Cloud. And this Cloud, fundamentally a different person, wasn’t _his_ Cloud. He was only training this Cloud so that he could battle with him in the future… Which brought up another concerning point… What if Sephiroth never got a body and had a chance to fight this Cloud? What if he was training Cloud for an enemy that would never be?

Sephiroth didn’t like questions and theories. He preferred absolutes and certainties. But he was rather powerless in Cloud’s head, a whim to Cloud’s childish body and emotions. To get anything done, he had to convince the boy to do things and had to teach him _how_ to do things. It was a little humiliating, if this wasn’t _Cloud_ that he was speaking about. Cloud was generally an obedient child who did as Sephiroth asked, grumbling in his head, but still doing it.

It became routine, when Cloud would enter the library every day for a few hours to go through the notes that Professor Gast had left behind. He didn’t really understand much of what was written, but Sephiroth clearly did. So he came, day after day, to comb through the books at Sephiroth’s leisure. 

From what Sephiroth could tell, Cloud understood the basics of what he was reading. Namely, The Jenova Project was created by injecting Jenova cells into people, which led to the creation of SOLDIERs. It was done in an attempt to create an Ancient hybrid (though Sephiroth could tell that the child didn’t know what a hybrid was, through context, he was pretty sure Cloud could guess). But Gast had found evidence that Jenova was not an Ancient after, which is what these reports were documenting. 

At first Sephiroth wanted to deny this. But he choked on the words before he could get them out when Cloud kept his eyes on the page, over the words “I will be terminating the Jenova Project to determine Jenova’s true origins. -Gast 1980”

Which… did not line up with what he had originally read here. The fact that Gast was convinced that Jenova wasn’t a true Ancient and the subsequent tests that were performed on Mother seemed to lend the theory that Jenova wasn’t an Ancient. Most damning was the reports of Ancients being able to communicate with the lifestream and the affinity for mako. And Jenova’s experiments never reported any increases in materia usage or mako absorption. Furthermore, Gast had stated that Project S was the result of Lucrecia Cresent’s fetus.

Which meant that someone was lying. Someone had planted information here, knowing that he would stumble into it. Sephiroth couldn’t remember if that person was Hojo or President Shinra, considering he hadn’t even looked at the mission request form all those years ago. At the time when he took the Nibelheim mission, he just wanted to get out of the tower.

Not that it mattered. Both were equally bad as the other. And it wasn’t like Sephiroth would spare either, if he ever got a body back.

‘ _Cloud. Head up to the reactor,_ ’ Sephiroth said slowly, his voice shaking slightly. As it stood, Jenova was basically his mother, even if she had not given birth to him. Her cells were as intertwined with him as his own. And her body, though frozen by mako and preserved in time, was probably the only link to his body right now.

Cloud obediently headed up to the reactor, carefully avoiding the monsters and slicing through the ones he couldn’t avoid. It took a little while, but eventually, Cloud stared up at the rotting doors of the entrance. 

“Mister General? What are you looking for here?” Cloud asked as he stepped into the empty halls.

‘ _Jenova,_ ’ Sephiroth answered.

But there was no reaction from Jenova’s prone and still body. Cloud shifted uncomfortably, a frown on his face as he looked over the tubes and mako-filled chamber.

Sephiroth was disappointed, but unsurprised. Cloud was not enhanced with Jenova’s cells--or rather, S-cells yet. Maybe not ever. So Jenova wouldn’t react to him.

Furthermore, Sephiroth didn’t have any S-cells. He was just a voice, a presence that existed in Cloud’s head. So he couldn’t feel the buzz of Reunion or call others with it.

How vexing.

‘ _Alright, Cloud. Let’s leave._ ’ Sephiroth sighed as he felt Cloud clench his hand over the hilt of the sword.

“Why did you want to come here?” Cloud asked softly. “What is Jenova?”

Sephiroth contemplated on telling the truth or the lie. Either way, it wouldn’t avoid the pressing issue, which was the fact that Sephiroth wasn’t actually the Sephiroth Cloud had idolized. ‘ _I was hoping she could grant me my body,_ ’ Sephiroth admitted finally.

“Your...” Cloud trailed off, his brow furrowing. Sephiroth could feel the moment when realization hit. “Wait… You’re not General Sephiroth from all those newspaper clippings and the TV? You sound just like him though.”

‘ _I am not_ that _Sephiroth,_ ’ Sephiroth sighed, figuring that the truth would come out sooner or later. ‘ _I am a different Sephiroth, from another world._ ’

The confusion set back in, though it was backed by a sort-of firm determination. “Well, other world or not, I still think Ma would like to have you as a son.”

Sephiroth could tell that Cloud didn’t _quite_ get it. Not that he could blame him. For all Cloud knew, Sephiroth could have been his consciousness that was formed into an imaginary friend that happened to sound like the General he knew.

“Hey Mister General, do you think you’ll be able to visit Nibelheim one day?” Cloud asked. “I want to introduce you to my Ma.”

Or Cloud could just straight up ignore Sephiroth’s explanation. That was fine too.

\--

Cloud seemed determined to ‘share his Ma’ with Sephiroth, despite the other not having a body.

Sephiroth wasn’t terribly amused by this. At best, it was a foreign feeling. At worst, it was intrusive. Almost like Cloud, the little imp that he was, had somehow wormed his way into Sephiroth’s mind, was now worming the thought of Sephiroth sharing Cloud’s Ma. It was intrusive in the way that he hadn’t felt in a long, long time. Or perhaps it was intrusive because he hadn’t allowed himself to be manipulated by someone this way. And Cloud was irritatingly good at wheedling his arguments to get what he wanted.

Considering that Sephiroth was likely the one to have taught Cloud this technique (by using it on him), it wasn’t terribly surprising that Cloud had picked it up. 

But it was frustrating in the sense that Sephiroth _knew_ what Cloud was doing, but somehow didn’t manage to stop him in time before it affected him. It was only after the damage had been done, only after Cloud had gone to sleep and Sephiroth reflected on the interactions in the day, did Sephiroth realize what Cloud was doing. It was simultaneously infuriating and impressive.

Sephiroth supposed it could have been the guilt of betraying Cloud’s trust during the mako poisoning incident. Which was immensely odd, considering he had no problem lying to adult Cloud. Or maybe that wasn’t true. Maybe he _did_ have a problem with lying to adult Cloud--it was just that it was overshadowed by the desperation to call for him and see him. If adult Cloud had looked at him without the fear, anger, wariness… perhaps he could have responded with respect. Perhaps he could have learned to care for Cloud, the same way he cared for his younger self.

If the adult Cloud had come to him for guidance, maybe… just maybe…

Sephiroth slowly shifted in Cloud’s mind. He wondered what this feeling was. The feeling of wanting to try again with his Cloud. Of wanting something _more_ than just the shadow of loyalty from the blond. What he had here, this was precious in its own way. 

He wouldn’t even be having these thoughts, if he had a body. But trapped in the child’s mind, he couldn’t help but reflect on things. When he was back in the Lifestream, when he was back in his world fighting Cloud and his friends, he had thought that this was the only path they could have taken. Cloud was his nemesis. The thorn on his side. The wrench in his plans. His counterpart.

But this…? What he had here with the younger Cloud? 

They weren’t counterparts. For the first time, Sephiroth wondered. If the possibility was there and he managed to get a body, would he _want_ to fight Cloud to the death? Did he even want to destroy the world and offer it to Mother like in the previous world?

The image of Cloud’s cheeky smile in the mirror flashed in his mind. And, unwittingly, the image of Cloud Strife’s Ma. The kindness and patience that she had for Cloud’s antics was truly something. Always ready with dinner, comforting and warm. This was Cloud’s home.

And Sephiroth’s home was in Cloud’s head, so, by extension, it was Sephiroth’s home too.

Having Cloud by his side as a puppet was novel and exciting. Especially since he could feel Cloud fighting for control. But Sephiroth couldn’t remember feeling content at the time. Excited, yes. Anticipation, yes. But content…?

Even if he had felt content at the time, it didn’t rival what he felt here.

He wondered about his other self here. Just based on the TV and the newspaper clippings, it seemed that there were slight differences between himself and the Sephiroth here. Not terribly noticeable to people who didn’t know him, but noticeable enough to himself.

Things like the speeches that he gave on TV were far less… robotic. The smile he flashed to Genesis and Angeal as the camera turned away. The grip he held Masamune was looser… 

This Sephiroth _belonged_ in this world. He appeared comfortable and content in a way Sephiroth couldn’t remember feeling at Shinra. 

And this Cloud…

He was getting stronger. By all definitions, with the amount of mako in his system, he would have been classified as a SOLDIER third. And Cloud had adapted amazingly well, somehow not holding the first incidence of mako poisoning against Sephiroth. Which was both weird and unnerving.

The Cloud from his world had once said that there was nothing in the world he didn’t cherish. Sephiroth wondered if that applied to him now. Did the child Cloud treasure him the same way Cloud had treasured his friends back in their world? What did it mean to Cloud to treasure someone? Surely it wasn’t the same as Sephiroth’s duty to his Mother.

He thought of the memories he had plucked from Cloud’s mind back in their world. The smiles of his friends, the obnoxious attitudes, but the unwavering loyalty that they displayed to him, even after he had unwittingly betrayed them by handing over the Black Materia to Sephiroth…

Sephiroth wondered if the reason they hated him was less about him trying to destroy the world, but more because he had hurt Cloud. To take the burden and responsibility of someone else’s well-being in his hands was not something he had ever experienced. But for whatever reason, he felt almost irrationally protective here. Perhaps it was his helplessness or the lack of body. Cloud he could explain away. Cloud in his world was his counterpart. And even though the child Cloud of this world _wasn’t_ his counterpart, he certainly had the potential to be. Sephiroth could already see it in his movements.

But that didn’t quite extend to Cloud’s Ma. On one hand, Sephiroth could say that Cloud was more inclined to listen and train when he was healthy and happy. The excuse was almost hollow in his own head. No, the truth was far more simple.

He actually _liked_ Cloud’s Ma.

If he ever decided to burn the town down for their big-headed country arrogance, he would spare at least Cloud’s Ma. And the Tifa that Cloud would peek at from time to time. Sephiroth recognized that child as the same black haired girl that traveled with Cloud. Cloud had once told him that he liked Teef, but the feeling of being shy and fluttery around the girl had slowly tapered off when the girl’s father forbade Cloud to see her. And even more so since he was now busy hunting for food and curtailing the monster population around the town.

Now, Cloud barely glanced at the girl. But Sephiroth knew that the girl had become important to Cloud in his world, so he would spare her. Just for that reason.

If Sephiroth ever got a body, perhaps he would train Cloud in earnest. Not as his rival, but as his protege. Maybe even as a friend, if Cloud allowed it.

His world had been more simple. His role was clearly defined, as Cloud’s was. But here. It was different here.

\--

Within three years of consistent mako exposure, Cloud had enough mako in him to qualify as a SOLDIER first. His strength and speed were unmatched by the other children and all of the adults. It was clear that Cloud didn’t really have a place here anymore.

Even the adults were getting leery of him. His bright blue eyes threaded with green and his deceptively skinny frame that was slowly building muscle. Sephiroth was pretty sure that Cloud could probably drink mako and still be fine afterwards.

“Ma? I’m going to Midgar to be a SOLDIER tomorrow!” Cloud declared at the dinner table.

‘ _Cloud..._ ’ Sephiroth warned, his tone disapproving. Considering that Sephiroth was an occupant in Cloud’s head, they usually agreed on things together. But this time, Cloud had not consulted Sephiroth.

Cloud ignored him.

“Going to Midgar…? A SOLDIER?” Cloud’s Ma asked softly. “Ah, it may benefit you to learn from them, my little hunter. You can enroll at fourteen, right?” She smiled at him.

“Yeah. Ma, I wanted to tell you first,” Cloud said, his knees shuffling a little. “Do you think I can do it?”

Cloud’s Ma smiled in a way that made Sephiroth’s soul ache. It was a wistful, knowing smile that resonated with his own feelings on the matter. “You can do anything you put your mind to doing, my little Cloud.” She reached over and slowly pet his hair, Cloud’s satisfaction echoing through his bond.

“Thanks Ma!” Cloud chirped, leaning into the touches. Sephiroth relaxed in those touches just as much as Cloud did.

‘ _Why didn’t you tell me first?_ ’ Sephiroth asked softly. It was late at night, when the world was asleep.

“Sorry, Mister General,” Cloud whispered. “I wanted to tell Ma first. Because she is the one who raised me and believed in me, even when I didn’t believe in myself. I was gonna tell you next, I swear.”

Sephiroth supposed he could understand that. He slowly reached towards the warmth that was Cloud’s mind, the happiness that was there. ‘ _We’ll have to work on a few things to get you ready for Shinra. There’s a few things you need to know._ ’

“Mister General?” Cloud asked softly, looking into the mirror. It helped a little for Cloud to speak to the General. And to be honest, Sephiroth found it helpful to be able to read Cloud’s face.

‘ _The Science Department is to be avoided at all costs,_ ’ Sephiroth intoned. ‘ _I_ _f someone comes at you with an offer from that department, you reject them entirely. If they get their grubby hands on you--if Hojo gets his hands on you--then I cannot be responsible for my actions when I get a body back._ ’

“Science Department?” Cloud murmured. 

‘ _Listen, Cloud. Science is responsible for the creation of SOLDIERs. I was one of the first,_ ’ Sephiroth said. ‘ _They’re pretty famous for making people disappear. There are rumors… rumors that I can confirm._ ’ He paused, wondering if Cloud was going to be able to avoid them at all due to the amount of mako in his system. ‘ _No doubt Hojo will find you interesting._ ’

“Hojo…?” Cloud asked.

‘ _He is not a good person, Cloud. If he approaches you..._ ’ Sephiroth paused, wondering if he should prey on Cloud’s good nature. ‘ _You should show yourself to higher ups. Like Sephiroth from this world and maybe Genesis and Angeal. Hojo is much less likely to take you if you know people and they are expecting you. Make yourself known in Shinra and you will be much less of a target._ ’ No doubt this world’s Sephiroth would find this Cloud most interesting and want to keep the boy around. 

“What if he finds me first?” Cloud whispered, looking into the mirror.

Sephiroth fell silent, taking a deep breath. ‘ _Then you break his arms and both his legs and toss him down the stairs. You make it clear, in no uncertain terms, that you are not easy prey. That you won’t be his_ Subject _in any science related experiment. And that he would do better to stay away from you._ ’

It would be dangerous for Cloud to do this, but it was far more dangerous to allow Hojo to get his grimy hands on Cloud. Cloud was strong enough right now to be able to do this, even if he didn’t like it.

“Mister General…? Did Hojo hurt you?” Cloud asked slowly.

Sephiroth fell silent, wondering how Cloud could tell. Perhaps it was something in his tone, or something in his emotions that leaked over to Cloud. 

“I understand, Mister General!” Cloud declared quietly. “If I meet Hojo, I will break both his arms and both his legs and toss him down the stairs! That way, he can’t hurt the General anymore.”

‘ _Good._ ’ Although whether this declaration was actually a good thing or not remained to be seen. Was it bad that Sephiroth kind of wanted to see Hojo get thrown down the stairs by a scrawny Cloud? ‘ _You will probably be interrogated by the Turks about your enhancements._ ’

“Oh. I guess I shouldn’t say ‘The General in my head told me how’,” Cloud murmured into the mirror, looking at himself and examining the green threads of mako in his eyes. “Can we just say that I got pushed into mako?”

‘ _Hm. Better to add on something about bullying. Like, they held you under or something,_ ’ Sephiroth added slowly, wondering. ‘ _The closer to the truth, the harder it is to find out whether or not you lied to them. And the Turks are very good at finding out the truth._ ’

“So I’ll say bullies held me under or something. We’ll have time to come up with a good story,” Cloud whispered.

‘ _Also, you need to learn not to speak to me out loud,_ ’ Sephiroth added.

“Ah...” Cloud blinked. “Can you hear my thoughts?”

‘ _Yes. For the most part. Of course, if you make an effort to hide them from me, it is harder._ ’

‘ _So_ that’s _how you knew about me when we first met?_ ’ Cloud mused.

Sephiroth chuckled. ‘ _No, Cloud. I know about you because you are mine. Admittedly, I’ve never met you at this age. But you are someone who I would never forget._ ’

Before Cloud could ask what that meant, Sephiroth turned serious again.

‘ _SOLDIERs are dangerous, Cloud. But if you show them you won’t be pushed around and bullied, then you’ll do just fine. Just make sure that you keep your wits,_ ’ Sephiroth said. Then he sighed slowly. ‘ _I’ll be here too. So be careful._ ’ It’s not like Sephiroth had anywhere else to go until he found his body. Which could be never.

‘ _Okay Mister General. Thanks!_ ’ Cloud chirped in his head. Sephiroth winced at the boy’s cheer, wondering when he started giving _advice_ to the boy for the sake of the boy’s continued survival. On one hand, the prospect of fighting _this_ Cloud was still on the table. Not to the death, no. This Cloud was his mentee. Someone he had to protect.

‘ _Go to sleep Cloud. We can talk more tomorrow when we set out for Midgar._ ’

\--

Technically, Cloud wasn’t fourteen yet. However, by time it would take to get to Midgar, his birthday would probably have passed. Plus, it would benefit Cloud greatly to travel and take his time with getting to Midgar. The stronger he got, the better. 

And Sephiroth was with him. Even though he was only in his head, Sephiroth knew that this would be an invaluable experience to little Cloud. _His_ Cloud had traveled the world with the ragtag group of friends after all. And they were much stronger after their adventures.

Sephiroth was almost wondering how strong the child would be at his Cloud’s age if they kept this up. Would Cloud be able to one-shot a behemoth? Would he be able to defeat him effortlessly?

When he saw his Cloud again, he’d have to test this. He couldn’t have his Cloud weaker than the child version, after all. Even if he had to drag his Cloud, kicking and screaming, into a training room.

Sephiroth watched as Cloud’s mood shifted to excitement with a little bit of sadness. Cloud looked at his Ma with a sort of longing and Sephiroth felt a sense of gratitude towards the woman. There weren’t many people who Sephiroth could feel gratitude towards, but Cloud’s Ma had earned it. To have taken care of such a troublesome child without help from the village surely took some work.

He remained silent as Cloud made his way, on foot, out of town, cheerfully swinging the duffle bag on his back. The sword Cloud carried was tucked into his belt at his hip, sharpened and ready for use in case monsters were nearby. It made Sephiroth feel a little better that Cloud was clearly a capable warrior already.

It made those three years of training Cloud worth it.

Sephiroth paused as he considered this Cloud. The Cloud he knew wasn’t exactly… practiced with a sword in the way that experts wielded a blade. It made Cloud strong, since his moves were often unpredictable, but it also left a lot of holes in his defences. Cloud probably learned to fight out of desperation rather than being taught by anyone, even though his movements had become more practiced and smoother over the years. And then there was the whole instance with Cloud absorbing Zackary’s memories… Which meant that Cloud probably learned to fight from Zackary’s memories. But it was a bastardized version of Zack’s movements. Having Zack’s memories didn’t mean that Cloud had the muscle memory or the training to be able to pull off some of Zack’s stunts. Cloud was also leaner and shorter than Zack.

Right, so… to fight his Cloud at his prime, he’d probably have to kidnap him and then train him. And maybe, maybe, Cloud wouldn’t fight him too much on that?

Sephiroth suppressed a snort at his own thoughts. Yes, he could just see it now. He would force his will on Cloud just to train him. Cloud would take that _so well_. So much so that the first instance he got, Cloud would probably run him through with his buster-like blade. Maybe use his Limit Break on him, just to finish the job.

‘ _Cloud, why do you want to be a SOLDIER?_ ’ Sephiroth asked as the boy made his way through the frozen wastelands. 

“Hm…” Cloud pondered this fact, but Sephiroth knew that Cloud was stalling for time. It wasn’t like Cloud didn’t _know_ , why. “I wanted to be a hero like you, Mister General.”

To say the words without a hint of shame was really something. Sephiroth felt himself get flustered. He knew he had inspired a lot of people to join SOLDIER, but to hear it from Cloud was something else. ‘ _What does a hero mean to you, Cloud?_ ’

“To help people when they need it!” Cloud declared.

‘ _Mmm, but you can do that without being a SOLDIER. You can be the hero to your little village,_ ’ Sephiroth countered.

Cloud stopped in his tracks, his boots crunching in the snow. “Mister General… I don’t have a place there.”

‘ _You have a home that you may never see again,_ ’ Sephiroth said.

“Ma will be okay without me. They’ll treat her better when I’m gone,” Cloud said. And in a split second, Sephiroth realized that Cloud actually _believed_ the words. “The reason they treat her bad is because of me. So if I’m gone, it should get better for her.”

Oh Gaia. Was this the source of Cloud’s constant self-doubt? If it was, Sephiroth didn’t regret burning the town into hot ashy pieces. Not that he regretted it in the first place. 

And to Sephiroth’s alarm, he realized that Cloud had _heard_ every word that the adults said about him. It hadn’t even occurred to him at the time; Sephiroth was so used to his own enhancements, his own body, that he had completely forgotten that he was _literally_ hearing everything through Cloud’s ears. And seeing everything through Cloud’s eyes. What he knew was only a byproduct of what Cloud knew. They might have been able to infer different things from the same information, but Cloud’s enhancements would easily allow him to hear the jeers and the insults just as well as allowing him to hear the rustle of leaves in winter.

‘ _Mmm, but surely, you don’t need to go be a SOLDIER for that,_ ’ Sephiroth said slowly, getting back on topic. He would address Cloud’s self-esteem issue later. ‘ _You have your enhancements and are as strong as most of the SOLDIERs. There really is no need to go, is there?_ ’

“It is somewhere we can go to help more people. I want to save the world!” Cloud declared, taking off into the wilderness.

Sephiroth wondered how his Cloud would feel hearing this from his younger self. Probably mortification.

\--

Sure enough, the moment he turned in his application in Shinra, Cloud had been dragged away by the Turks.

Sephiroth watched through Cloud’s eyes as Cloud was led into one of the interrogation rooms. But this one was built more like a meeting room rather than an interrogation room, most likely to get more information out of the one being interrogated.

‘ _Don’t let your guard down,_ ’ Sephiroth said slowly as the Turk left and was swapped with Tseng. ‘ _They are quite crafty at getting people to talk._ ’

A wave of agreement came through the link although Cloud looked around the room in awe. Some of it was manufactured awe; Cloud was observing the windows that wouldn’t open and the camera in the corner and on the chandelier. Some of it was actual awe. It was so different than his hometown after all. Sephiroth chuckled before he could stop himself. He doubted Cloud had ever seen anything so lavish.

“Does the room interest you?” Tseng's voice came after a few moments.

“Uh...” Cloud looked at the black haired Turk and blinked a few times. “Yeah. I mean, yes sir! We don’t have anything like this in Nibelheim.”

Tseng hummed, pulling out a notebook in the lapel of his jacket and a pen. “Why don’t you tell me a little about Nibelheim?”

“It’s in the middle of nowhere? Snow everywhere…?” Cloud flattered, quite convincingly. “Erm… What do you want to know about it?”

“How about your family Cloud?” Tseng asked.

‘ _No! Do not tell him anything!_ ’ Sephiroth said suddenly. 

Cloud’s eyes narrowed as he looked at Tseng. “I don’t know you. I’ve never met you. I don’t feel comfortable telling you anything.”

Tseng smiled, as if appreciating the challenge. “Apologies, Cloud Strife. My name is Tseng. I work with the Department of Administrative Research. We just want to know a little more about Shinra’s newest prospective candidate.”

“So I can assume that you have a line of prospective candidates outside the door for interviews?” Cloud asked suspiciously.

“You may, yes.”

It was a sneaky way of lying without actually lying. To allow the one being interrogated to make assumptions and therefore reveal more information. But Sephiroth had taught Cloud well enough by now not to be fooled by it. Largely by doing it to him.

“But that assumption would be incorrect.” Cloud commented.

Tseng’s smile didn’t waver, but a gleam did enter his dark brown eyes. Cloud grinned a little, looking at Tseng approvingly. 

“Sir, if you were to ask information about myself, I might answer you. But if you were to ask information about anyone else… Well, it’s not mine to give,” Cloud said, folding his hands on the table. 

Sephiroth could tell by the look in Tseng’s eyes that the Turk thought that he had won.

“Oh really?” Tseng said. “Then perhaps you can tell me how you got those enhancements. Which doctor performed them?”

“Enhancements? Doctor?” The confusion in Cloud’s voice was clear. And to someone who wasn’t in Cloud’s head, it was probably also very convincing. “I don’t understand what you might be referring to.”

Tseng’s eyes gleamed. “That is quite a bit of mako you have in you, Strife. How did you get it?”

Cloud blinked, the confusion in his face wearing off. “Oh! The mako? Hmmm,” he pretended to think about it, but Tseng didn’t appear to be fooled. “Nibelheim is surrounded by natural mako springs, Mr. Tseng. Did you know that?”

Tseng put a very surprised face, as if he was unaware of this fact. Sephiroth wasn’t fooled, but it didn’t matter if Cloud was or not. “Oh? Natural mako, you say?”

“Yup. Kids would play in them all the time, Mr. Tseng. We didn’t know it was dangerous,” Cloud chirped, his mako eyes reflected off the shiny polished table. “And I was bullied a lot as a kid. I mean, I’m tiny, you know. An easy target.”

Sephiroth watched Tseng’s face when Cloud turned his gaze to him. Tseng seemed to be formulating something in his head, but knew better to assume.

“They pushed me in. Held me under. I guess they thought it was water or something,” Cloud said, shrugging. “And to be fair, adults didn’t tell us how bad it actually was. They just told us not to go near the mako.”

Tseng’s hands folded in front of him, silently waiting for Cloud to continue. When Cloud didn’t, he spoke. “So that’s how you got your enhancements?”

“Once wasn’t enough for the other kids. They didn’t get into trouble. Five kids saying nothing happened against one kid wasn’t exactly fair, Mr. Tseng,” Cloud said, letting the big blue eyes well up with tears and pulling the humiliation and anger from the bullying as a child in the forefront of his mind. He didn’t even have to fake it--the bullying and fighting was real.

Personally, Sephiroth thought that Cloud could have gone into acting, if he wasn’t going to be a SOLDIER. Genesis would, no doubt, enjoy this performance.

“Mmm, I imagine it wasn’t fair,” Tseng said evenly, watching Cloud’s face impassively. 

“So they did it again. And again. And again. Until one day, I didn’t move after they pulled me out. I guess they realized it was more serious than they thought. Mako wasn’t just water. Although I could have told them that from the burning.”

Tseng passed Cloud a box of tissues, but his face was carefully blank. “But you survived.”

“I don’t remember how,” Cloud admitted. “I just remember waking up at my home. I don’t think any of the adults went to save me because none of the kids ever fessed up to it. I think I somehow dragged myself home.”

Cloud grabbed a tissue from the box and dabbed his eyes, rubbing his nose with it. 

“Hm… Alright. I’ll put it in your file. Did those kids leave you alone after?” Tseng asked, writing something down.

“Yeah. I guess nearly killing me was enough to spook them,” Cloud said.

“On your application, you put _hunting_ under Special Skills,” Tseng said, holding Cloud’s application up.

Cloud nodded a little, folding the tissue and crumpling it in his hand. 

“Did you help you folks hunt?” Tseng asked.

“Yeah. Also, on my way over here to Midgar, there were a lot of monsters and animals. I had to eat somehow,” Cloud sniffed, giving Tseng a teary look.

Tseng didn’t look like he really wanted to know what kind of monsters Cloud ate, but Cloud elaborated anyway.

“The Zolom was so nasty though. Blegh.”

“Alright, that’s enough,” Tseng said, his eyebrow twitching. “Thank you for your time, Strife. Your application has been accepted. Welcome to Shinra.”

Cloud’s teary eyes blinked a few times, the surprise all over his face. “What? That’s it?”

“This is a special case,” Tseng sighed, taking Cloud’s application and tucking it into the folder. “You’ll find all the information you need at the front desk. I look forward to working with you, Strife.”

“Thanks Mr. Tseng!” Cloud said, dabbing the last bit of tears with the crumpled up tissue and looking up at him. “I hope to see you around!”

The comment seemed to take Tseng back. And for once, Sephiroth could sympathize. No one _wanted_ to see Turks around. But Cloud was new and, to Tseng’s knowledge, oh so oblivious. 

“Most people do not want to see us around,” Tseng commented, leading Cloud out. 

“Why not, Mr. Tseng? You’re not bad. Nosy, but not bad.”

If Sephiroth had a body, he would probably laugh at that statement. Doubly so when Tseng turned around, his eyes wide and his jaw slack as he stared at Cloud.

\--

Cloud was not stupid.

Sephiroth reflected on this statement as Cloud’s sensitive hearing picked up the sound of shuffling feet and light breathing. Rookie Turks, Cloud had guessed correctly.

Red hair and a bald head… Reno and Rude. It was kind of weird to be tailed by Turks without a clear reason as to why he was being tailed. But Cloud mentioned it didn’t bother him. 

‘ _It kind of feels like Mr. Tseng is looking out for me, you know, Mister General?_ ’ Cloud said, after spotting the two in the cafeteria. 

Sephiroth didn’t really know about that. He didn’t really care either way. If they came to pick a fight with the smaller Cloud, Sephiroth would _make sure_ they regretted it after he got his body back. 

Being in the pre-cadet program was a waste of time for Cloud. Cloud was clearly head and shoulders above the rest. Sephiroth could smugly preen about it too. It wasn’t like he had anything else to do in Cloud’s head while he took classes. They had a trial period of a month before they actually started the cadet training. It was mostly for those who didn’t actually have the ambition to become cadets.

Cloud would often ask him questions and opinions about fighting techniques and military operations. It was things he needed to know for the SOLDIER exam. Sephiroth was patient. Another stepping stone to making Cloud a worthy opponent, after all.

But the presence of Cloud’s mako enhancements was certainly a drawback for Cloud. It made him stand out in a way not many other cadets stood out. Most worryingly, it made him a target. Not for hazing, no. No one would be that stupid to pick on someone that had _clearly_ had enhancements. For all they knew, Cloud could be an undercover SOLDIER in the pre-cadet program. A very short, scrawny, newbie SOLDIER.

No, the culprits were far more sinister. The Science Department had begun to make their move. 

Perhaps they thought Cloud was a simple not-quite cadet and therefore easy picking. Perhaps they thought Cloud was so new, no one would notice. Either way, it didn’t matter to Sephiroth. It pretty much started on the first night there.

Cloud’s roommates had not noticed anything wrong, but Cloud had immediately noted the scent of some kind of chemical like substance. 

“What’s wrong, Cloud?” His top bunkmate asked sitting on his bed, looking at Cloud. 

‘ _Drew,_ ’ Sephiroth supplied.

‘ _Thanks,_ ’ Cloud responded.

“It smells weird in here. Did someone bring something in?” Cloud asked casually, placing his items on his assigned desk.

“Huh? I don’t smell anything,” Drew commented. The two others, Jason and Harry, both looked at Cloud carefully before looking around.

“What does it smell like? Maybe some of the seniors tossed perfume in the room or something,” Jason asked.

“Donno. Here, I smell it more on my things,” Cloud said, mischievously offering one of his pillows to Drew.

‘ _You sneaky little--!_ ’ Sephiroth found himself simultaneously impressed and horrified. The Cloud he knew would _never_ do something as underhanded as…!

Drew’s face smashed into the pillow, completely unconscious. Cloud had just enough time to catch him before he crashed into the ground, setting him carefully on the floor.

Jason and Harry both jerked up, staring at Drew and then their own pillows in horror.

“Oh my Gaia! That is a dangerous prank!” Harry said, utterly horrified. “Are they trying to kill us?!”

“I doubt this will kill us. Probably just make us oversleep and get us all yelled at tomorrow when they found us out cold,” Cloud said reasonably. For the first time, Sephiroth wondered if he was, perhaps, mistaken about a few things regarding Cloud’s character. Or maybe he had influenced the boy far more than he had initially thought.

Neither Sephiroth nor Cloud spoke about the fact that this was likely a ‘prank’ targeting him. But thankfully, his roommates didn’t seem to care either. They looked at their pillows and then gathered all of them up with their sheets, bundling them together. Then Jason slung the pile over his shoulder and said, “I’ll get us new ones and let them know these were pranked by someone. There’s probably someone out there who can tell us who did this.”

“No doubt after they realized this attempt failed, they’ll come at us with another,” Harry sighed. “Should we bring Drew to Medical?”

Cloud monitored Drew’s symptoms and internally spoke to Sephiroth. ‘ _What do you think, Mister General?_ ’

‘ _You can. But if Science was so obsessed with kidnapping you in the middle of the night, it is likely they will bring a cure or esuna with them. You can just remove it from their person instead._ ’

“If he doesn’t wake up by morning, we should,” Cloud said, hauling Drew onto the top bunk with ease to the surprise of the other two. “But we don’t want to be caught in the middle of the night wandering around either. We have curfew.”

“Shit. Yeah, okay. I guess we can sleep under our jackets or something,” Jason sighed. “Let me drop this off first.”

\--

As it turned out, Science didn’t come for him in the middle of the night. Sephiroth wasn’t sure if this was because they had noticed their attempt failed or if they intended to kidnap Cloud in the middle of the day when all the cadets were out training.

Cloud was glad, at least, Drew had woken up by himself without any intervention. It meant that the chemical only intended to knock him out. Not put him under permanently. Sephiroth found himself agreeing to this assessment whole-heartedly.

Thankfully, Cloud seemed to have good (or was it bad?) luck since he ran into Tseng when he was in the middle of going to his next class.

“Hi Mr. Tseng!” Cloud chriped.

Sephiroth instantly felt a sense of worry and dread. He was quickly realizing that this was going to be a common theme while Cloud was in Shinra. Cloud had no sense of self-preservation, or maybe he did and was sneakily working his way into the ranks.

“Strife,” Tseng said dismissively, but he stopped in the middle of the hallway to chat with the small blond. “What is it?”

“Did you send people to follow me, Mr. Tseng?” Cloud asked, ignoring the somewhat flabbergasted expression on Tseng’s face. Sephiroth felt himself choke with laughter in Cloud’s head. “You know, Mr. Tseng. I am fourteen.”

“I… What makes you think I sent them?” Tseng asked, his eyes wide. Well, wider than they normally would have been. Tseng’s facial expressions were hard to read, but Cloud seemed to have picked it up anyway.

“They wear the same suits you do. The red-head and the bald guy,” Cloud said. “They’re not very good bodyguards anyway, since they missed the fact that someone put some kind of knockout liquid on all the bed sheets in my room.”

Tseng’s expression could have been carved from stone.

“Anyway, see you later, Mr. Tseng!” Cloud waved, grinning, turning away from him and heading outside to the physical drills.

‘ _I am beginning to think that I am a bad influence on you,_ ’ Sephiroth said slowly.

‘ _You are absolutely a bad influence on me,_ ’ Cloud agreed. ‘ _But you are right in saying, the more people know, the less chance the Science Department will try anything else. After all, it’ll be obvious if I just… disappear… after warning everyone I am being targeted. Plus, it’s not just me either. Also Jason and Drew and Harry. They don’t deserve to get whisked away by the crazy Science Department._ ’

‘ _..._ ’ Sephiroth didn’t really know what to say to that. Not that anything more needed to be said since Cloud had started on drills with his classmates.

It was clear that Cloud was enjoying himself here. Regardless of their physical differences, Cloud was accepted among them. It irritated Sephiroth more than he was willing to admit, simply because Cloud _shouldn’t_ need these lesser beings.

But even he was hard pressed to argue about the benefits of navigating Shinra’s political maze with allies. Strength could only take Cloud so far. Ah, if only he had a body, maybe he could take down the entire tower and then Cloud could fight him on the ruins.

\--

Sephiroth didn’t really know when Cloud had officially met Zack, but even he knew that it was a little early.

Within a week of Cloud’s arrival, Zack had decided to come down to the cadet’s cafeteria and look for the “Little Chocobo with Mako Eyes”. Or at least, that’s what Zack had said when he slung his arms around Cloud’s shoulders and started messing with his hair.

A wave of irritation passed through Cloud’s head and he roughly grabbed Zack by the back of his shirt, holding him up and away from his head. Zack yelped in surprise as the little blond picked him up.

“Sir! Please do not ruffle my hair,” Cloud said, a pout on his face. Zack promptly cooed and reached over to poke the topmost spike on Cloud’s head. Cloud huffed and dropped the SOLDIER, looking at him curiously. “I do not think we’ve met.”

‘ _That is Zackary Fair,_ ’ Sephiroth hummed. ‘ _I believe he is Second Class right now._ ’

“I’m Zack. And you must be the Chocobo with Mako Eyes! You know, you sent the SOLDIER cafeteria into a tizzy when the rumor hit them,” Zack said cheerfully, ruffling his hair. “Awwww, your hair is so fluffy! You should become a SOLDIER soon or it’ll get squashed down by those stupid looking helmets cadets all have to wear! Oh! I’ll help you!”

Cloud was steamrolled over by Zack’s enthusiasm. Given no time to reject or even process the idea before Zack declared, “Okay! Gotta go! See you Spikey!” and vanishing on him.

The cafeteria went silent as Cloud stared at the door. 

“What was that?” Cloud declared, throwing his hands up.

The rest of the cafeteria laughed at his expense.

‘ _It would benefit you to take Zachary's help. He is connected to all three Firsts. A very convenient way in establishing connections with the higher ups,_ ’ Sephiroth mused, clearly entertained by Cloud’s confusion.

‘ _Because of my hair,_ ’ Cloud reiterated in disbelief. ‘ _Because, somehow, Zack would be upset if my hair was squashed down by the cadet helmets._ ’

‘ _A noble cause,_ ’ Sephiroth inputted with a smug tone. Cloud sank back in the seat, staring at his lunch. ‘ _Whatever would we do if you lost the fluffiness of your spikes due to the helmet? A travesty for sure._ ’

‘ _I cannot believe you are siding with him._ ’

And for a moment, Sephiroth couldn’t believe it either. What had the world come to where _he_ was siding with _Zack_?! But the feeling quickly faded.

‘ _I am siding against you. There is a difference._ ’

Cloud moodily downed the entire bottle of orange juice. 

\--

Zack had brought congratulatory food and drinks for Cloud’s acceptance into the cadet program. They were sitting in Cloud’s bedroom, sprawled out all over the room. The other three were still awaiting results, apparently.

“Spike, how did you get so much mako in you anyway?” Zack asked. “That’s like… way more mako than normal SOLDIERs. Like, maybe if there was like a mako energy drink or mako coffee and Seph had three or four cans a day, he’d get to your level of mako.”

Cloud squinted at Zack, not quite understanding the comparison while Sephiroth laughed in his head. “I’m not sure how much mako that equals, Zack. Also, Seph?”

‘ _I do not recall Zackary ever bestowing such a degrading nickname to myself,_ ’ Sephiroth said, when Cloud kind-of poked him.

“General Sephiroth, Spike! You know, THE General?” Zack looked aghast at the very idea Cloud did not know the General.

“Does he actually let you call him that?” Cloud asked. “I mean, without trying to stab you? I don’t think he’s happy with that nickname.”

“‘Course he does, Spikey!” Zack said cheerfully.

‘ _I wouldn’t,_ ’ Sephiroth inputted in Cloud’s head.

“Minimal stabbing, I promise. Wait, how do you know he wouldn’t be happy with that nickname?” Zack asked, his brow furrowed.

Cloud was inspecting the drink Zack had offered him and said, “Hm? Oh, General Sephiroth is in my head and talks to me a lot.”

‘ _Cloud..._ ’

“What?!”

Cloud shrugged as he downed the drink, tilting his head. “Don’t worry about it. It’s normal.”

“Wait, you mean… No, wait...” Zack put both hands on his cheeks, closing his eyes. “Prove it. Tell me something only General Sephiroth would know.”

“Hm...” Cloud thought about it, considering what he knew about the voice in his head. “I’m not sure what you want to know.”

“Actually, if you claim to know him, then that means he knows you!” Zack accused, pointing a finger at Cloud.

“Maybe,” Cloud said, shrugging. Sephiroth remained silent in his head, but the level of exasperation could clearly be felt. “It wouldn’t surprise me if he did, actually. He told me that you know all three Firsts, actually.”

Zack’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped a little. Well, it wasn’t exactly anything secretive. Zack was Angeal’s protege and he knew General Sephiroth. It was only expected that Zack would know Genesis as well.

“Ah!” Cloud’s mouth split into a grin. “He’s way more talkative on Wednesdays. Does he have lunch or dinner with people on Wednesdays?”

And how the _fuck_ did this child deduce _that_ from Sephiroth’s interactions with him. Sephiroth’s surprise and shock was mirrored by Zack’s. 

Cloud seemed to realize that Sephiroth was surprised and he inputted, ‘ _On Wednesdays, you would chat with me a lot more about my Ma when we were eating dinner. You were more open and willing to talk about things you liked. Even more when we had Nibel stew for dinner.’_

Sephiroth hadn’t even realized it himself. He had fallen back to old patterns, old habits. It was surprising that Cloud picked it up, but maybe not so much, since they were linked by the mind.

“Holy shit! You _do_ know Seph,” Zack said in awe. “Alright! We’re going to go meet him! Right now!”

“Isn’t the General busy?”

‘... _Probably,_ ’ Sephiroth sighed, the shock still wearing off.

“Doesn’t matter. Let’s go!”

Zack dragged the now-cadet by the shirt, still holding one of the boxes of cookies he had brought with him. “We’re gonna visit Seph!”

Cloud shrugged, following along.

‘ _This was not what I had planned when I said you should go meet the Firsts,_ ’ Sephiroth said.

‘ _The sooner, the better,_ ’ Cloud replied.

\--

Sephiroth wasn’t terribly surprised to see his younger self buried in paperwork. He _was_ however, surprised to see that this Sephiroth recognized the younger Cloud.

_How interesting!_

“Zackary...” Sephiroth sighed after Zack declared his intentions while munching on the box of cookies and dropping crumbs all over the floor. 

“Spikey! Look who it is!”

“It’s the General, Zack! The real one!” Cloud responded enthusiastically. Sephiroth’s brow furrowed and he slowly set his pen down and gestured for Cloud to sit.

“Cloud...” Sephiroth greeted politely.

Cloud blinked at him. And then, much to the shock of both Sephiroths, he walked around his desk, reaching up and petting Sephiroth on the head. “You’re doing a good job. Thanks for all the hard work!”

Zack’s jaw dropped as Sephiroth stared at Cloud, completely flabbergasted at the sheer nerve of the cadet. Cloud dropped his hand and looked over at Zack, cheerfully throwing him a peace sign. 

“I should get back before curfew, Zack. Don’t cause too much trouble for our esteemed General,” Cloud said.

The Sephiroth in his head gave a shuddering moan of mortification. ‘ _Just… why?_ ’

‘ _You liked it when Ma did it to me,_ ’ Cloud explained.

‘ _So you just..._ ’

‘ _He didn’t seem to mind._ ’

Sephiroth wasn’t sure if he had any dignity left after this.

At this rate, it was probably better he didn’t have a body.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This work was totally inspired by CloudStrifeIsMySpiritAnimal's [Telling Time with a Broken Watch](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27354790/chapters/66840859)! Go read it if you haven't!


End file.
